My Friend Alice
by RoonilWazlib347
Summary: What if Bella made friends with Alice instead of Edward when she first moved to Forks? What if she discovered their secret by accident? My first fanfic, please R&R!
1. Preface

**A/N: The first chapter is finally up!! WHOOT-WHOOT!! This preface is kind of ominious, but the tone will get lighter. This is my first story ever, so please review!**

**Preface**

Pain. It's a little four-letter word that can sometimes have a very, very uncredited meaning. It's a little four-letter word that could mean the difference between life and death.

Stubbing your toe—that's painful, trust me, I should know. I'm such a klutz that I've done it more than once before. A bruise, a scraped knee, even a broken bone… all of those things are painful, sometimes even excruciatingly so.

But none of them even _begin_ to compare to what I'm feeling right now.

It was like in one of those horror movies, where they show someone writhing in pain, so much so that they are grunting and groaning and screaming in anguish, just wishing, hoping, praying for it to stop. This is what I was feeling. Only I couldn't make a sound. Only the two things that I needed, I couldn't –shouldn't, _wouldn't_- get, no matter how hard I tried.

Oh, I was screaming something dreadful inside my head; if anyone else were in my position, they would be too. I wanted someone, one special someone, to help me. But that just wasn't going to happen.

The cement I was surrounded by felt like it was closing in on me. I tried to reason with myself, tried to be practical, even in my time of demise. "Cement can't move itself, silly," I said silently in my brain. "It can't close in on you, suffocate you, or relieve you of the two things that you absolutely cannot live without…"

But after that thought came another: Obviously it can and was, very quickly and effectively. And with that resolving, last thought, I gave up.

**A/N: So?? Was it horrible? Acceptable? Good? I need to know!! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!! Just like in Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse, this chapter is the preface, or kind of like the prologue. In the next chapter (which will hopefully be up soon; writing in my classes in school is working surprisingly well), Bella will meet Alice on her first day of high school in Forks, Washington.**

**I promise if i get reviews, I will read them all! Thanks a bunch guys, I genuinely appreciate it. I also know that my spelling/grammar is horrendous, but please don't be too hard on me. If you want, you can tell me in a review and I'll fix it for you. **

**-RW **


	2. First Day of School

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"You could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it…. I had not known you for a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry."

I shifted my position in the seat of my red truck, resting both my feet in shotgun while I leaned against the driver's door. I was just getting to my favorite part in one of the best books of all time: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. The story would always engulf me as soon as I put my eyes to the pages. I would become angry along with headstrong Elizabeth Bennett because of what dashing Mr. Darcy had said to her. I would feel sorry, at the same time, for Mr. Darcy when his hopes were crushed because of his proposal's poor wording. A shiver ran down my spine as I smiled at the thought of their argument; it would be amazing and invigorating to be in one of their positions. But that was never going to happen. Arizona natives such as myself shouldn't be pasty-white, short, and brunette as I was. But I had gotten past that naggingly unfair aspect of my life. I now fit in perfectly with the people of Forks, Washington, the United State's own personal waterworks. There hadn't been even a snippet of sun since I had arrived here two days ago. At first I was almost worried, and asked Charlie, my dad, about the ominous weather that Forks seemed always to have. Unfortunately, he informed me, there had _not_ been some sort of fascinating natural disaster or involvement from extraterrestrials to insure that the mossy wetness of this rural town stayed at its peak. Alas, this village was just Mother Nature's very own wetlands, and there was nothing E.T. or a twister to Kansas could do about it.

I glanced at my watch. I had been reading in the school parking lot after having gotten there early to make sure I didn't stick out because of tardiness. With my book stuffed into my backpack, I headed across the pavement to the world's newest form of teenage torture: Fork's High School.

Ah, lunch: my favorite time of the school day.

All things considered, it hadn't been a horrible first day. I had only tripped once on the way out of the Biology room; I would have to watch out for those death traps they call Lab Stools. I had only had to introduce myself in one class. And best of all, I think I may just have made a new friend.

She was very nice, in an exuberant, peppy kind of way. She had light, topaz eyes, and the biggest smile I had seen since arriving in Forks. Also, she was stunningly beautiful. Not that it mattered… but when you had a complexion as breath taking as hers and moved in the graceful way she did, you couldn't help but notice it.

She was small in stature, not even five feet tall, with spiky black hair that complimented her extremely pale skin tone. Her pixie-like features completed her image, with that irresistible smile placed on her perfect face.

And her name was Alice.

It was Alice with whom I had been invited to sit at lunch, Alice who had helped me pick up my books after I fell. It was Alice who had talked to me, included me, and made me feel almost happy in this rainy little town.

I looked around the cafeteria, holding my lunch tray. From behind me I heard someone call "Hey Bella! We saved you a seat!"

Turning around, I saw that it was again Alice who had taken the liberty of making sure I had a place to sit on my first day. Although I had already tripped today and was bound to trip again before the day ended, although I had had to tell the whole class that I was indeed Bella Swan, transferring in January from Phoenix Arizona, and although Forks Washington was just about the last place I wanted to be right now, I was so touched by Alice's genuine kindness that I smiled warmly for the first time since setting foot in Precipitation USA, and sat down next to Alice at the lunch table.

Maybe Forks wouldn't be as bad as I had originally thought…. Maybe.


	3. Meeting the Cullens

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As I sat down next to Alice, I saw three other people at the table. The first was colossal and muscular with brown hair. The second was a bored-looking blond with the runway model figure that every hormone-raged high school boy writes songs about. The last was a tall blond boy with a curious look in his eyes, as if he were somewhat hungry, though he had an entire tray of untouched food before him, as all the others did. None of them looked very much alike, except for their overly pale skin, beautifully tailored features, and, what I now noticed were light purple circles under stunning topaz eyes, as if none of them had gotten very much sleep for the past few nights.

"Bella," Alice said –there was that enormous smile again- "these are my brothers and sister." She pointed to each of them in turn. "Emmett (the _big_ one), Rosalie (the runway model), and Jasper (the tall blond boy). We're all adopted," she stated matter-of-factly. They each gave me a smile, except Rosalie. I suspected she wasn't very impressed by me, which was no real surprise; I was hardly impressive. However, the huge bear-like one named Emmett ignored her hard looks, and waved enthusiastically at me, although there was no real need for this, as he was only about three feet away.

"Hi Bella! Nice to meet you!" Hearing this, Rosalie rolled her eyes. Emmett noticed, and put his massive arm around her shoulders, giving her another big smile. I assumed they were 'together.'

Then I heard Alice call to someone coming from behind me "Hey Edward, what took you so long?"

I turned around in my seat, and looked up to see a ludicrously gorgeous creature.

Of course, to call him that would be an understatement. He had the same marble skin, and the same purple shadows under uncannily similar topaz eyes. His bright eyes were dazzling, and the smile that he gave his family held deep love and caring for them. I only hoped that someone, maybe even this God-like being could ever look at me that way….

But of course I was being unreasonable. Fawning over someone I had just seen for the first time, and never even spoken to in my life? How could he have this strong of an affect on me? Was I so easily won over, that I could be falling for a complete and total stranger? Maybe it was because of the way he kept his hair—messily on his head, in that perfectly natural style… or maybe it was the way he held himself—standing tall and aw-inspiring, yet welcoming and gracious….

What was happening to me?! If I kept looking at him this way, he might as well have assumed that I had forgotten to take my anti-insanity pills this morning! The way I was acting, I wouldn't have blamed him if he did. I was being pathetic, and I knew it.

However, as all this flashed through my mind at once, Edward's eyes turned from liquid topaz to metallically cold and uninviting, the smile dropped off his wondrous face. Then he slowly turned to look at me. For what felt like an eternity he stared into my eyes. I was sure that my mouth was open and I had started drooling, but I couldn't tare my eyes off of his hardened face. In that instant, a look of extreme hunger and foreboding entered his eyes, and it seemed as though a hundred thoughts were flashing through his mind at once. I wondered what was the matter, but my mind was so pathetically focused on Edward's face that thinking about anything else just wasn't possible at the moment.

I saw from the corner of my eye that Alice had picked up on Edward's emotions, and had gotten a strong arm around him. Hmm, that was funny; I didn't think Alice was that tall.

I then heard her whispering calming words into his ear, though I only comprehended snippets of it.

"This is what I saw…go…Edward, GO…now, for God's sake! MOVE!" she hissed at him.

Edward took an unwilling step backwards, then another. Finally he turned on his heel and darted around the corner, and out of the cafeteria. Alice got down from the chair she had been standing on (oh… I guess that's how she had gotten so tall) and eyed Jasper, who nodded in return. "I'll… be right back," he mumbled distractedly, and then flew around the corner after him.

Alice gave me an apologetic shrug. "He's not usually like this. He's just got a lot to get used to, you know, and it's taking him a little longer than the rest of us…" She gave me a half smile, and started talking about the steps of Mitosis we had gone over in Biology; but I wasn't listening.

I tried to look encouraged, but the truth was that I was in shock. I was sure that I was the reason Edward had been so startled, the reason he had needed to find somewhere else to go. Why? Because I was here. There was no other explanation. He must have seen how I was looking at him, seen me almost drooling before him, and been shocked at how extremely pathetic the human race can sometimes be. If only I could have been prepared for his stunning looks, his caring gaze…

What was I doing? This was exactly the kind of thinking that had gotten me in this situation. I needed to change the way I thought about him. It was unhealthy. Besides, I didn't want to put my friendship with Alice in jeopardy already, after less than a day. No, I would have to learn to control my emotions, or stay away from Edward completely.


	4. Edward's Reaction

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took so long this time! I'm having a really busy weekend. But, i want all of you readers to know that I am putting you before homework, because you are just THAT important. This chapter is in Edward's POV because it explains some of the things in the last chapter. I'll try not to take so long next time! **

**Chapter 3**

Edward's POV

World War I and II. The United Nations catastrophe. _The 70's_. I had been through so many horrible things in my past, and had gotten through all of them.

Yet I had still almost lost control.

I passed around my room, Debussy playing in the background as an attempt to calm myself down. However, there was also the broken clock in my closet, from when I had gotten angry and decided to throw it. Clearly this 'calming down' concept was harder than I had thought. Pacing was not doing much good either.

I heard Alice come to the door before she knocked. _Edward,_ I heard her think, _Can I come in?_

"Yes Alice," I said out loud.

The door slammed open to a grim-faced and extremely aggravated Alice. She stormed into the middle of my room and stopped right in front of me, her hands on her hips.

"What is the matter with you?" she demanded. I rolled my eyes. Of course, I knew that this was a serious matter, but it was always a bit amusing to watch Alice blow things out of proportion.

"I told you what I saw. I told you first, and I told you right after I saw it. I _knew_ that you were almost going to crack! I even stopped picking out my outfit for you, Edward. And it turned out to be a good thing I did! If I hadn't seen that vision this morning, who knows what you could have done to poor Bella! I mean come on Edward, after everything our family has worked for…"

I never did understand what strange obsession Alice had with yelling. It would have been just as easy for her to think it, since I could hear her thoughts anyway.

But Alice had a good point. What _had _I been thinking? Then answer: nothing. I hadn't been thinking at all. If I had been thinking, I would have been able to tell myself to walk away. Walk away and not go back. This was because what I had felt was dangerous.

It was as if some extreme hunger had erupted inside of me, and I couldn't control myself. But it was more than a hunger, even an extreme one. It was a deep yearning, a want, a _need_, for something inside of Bella. And unfortunately, I was pretty sure that I knew what that yearning was for: her blood.

Sweet temptation passed over me when I first smelled her. I was being drawn toward her blood as if it were the one thing I could not bear to live without.

But I couldn't take it. I wouldn't.

Yet even as I stood there, my mind started crafting deviously sinister plots to get her out of that crowded cafeteria, somewhere where I could drink that luscious-smelling blood in peace.

But then I would have to make an excuse to get her to come with me. Bella herself wouldn't have said no, that much was clear. I had seen that she was quite taken with me, and she would not resist my charm. But my family was a different story; they would know what I was up to, and try to stop me. So I would have to fight them, too.

However, just when I was about to do something that I would undoubtedly regret for the rest of my eternal life, Alice's voice pulled me back.

"Edward," she had whispered to me, "Edward, you need to snap out of it. This is what I saw; this is what I warned you might happen! Go, before anyone sees you. Edward, Go! I know you can hear me. Now for God's sake, MOVE!"

That hadn't completely snapped me out of it, but then I thought of what terrible things I might have done, how many innocent lives I had almost put in jeopardy. That could never happen again. I would make sure of it.

Alice was still yelling as I slowly tuned back into reality.

"…And Africa, Edward! Think about Africa! You could have completely submerged it! How do you think the United Nations would react when they found out that there was one less continent in the world, just because you couldn't control yourself! Think about all those poor people from Zimbabwe with their turbans who-- "

"Alice," I interrupted, kneading my forehead with my fingers, "What do Zimbabwe natives and their fashion sense have to do with what happened at lunch today?"

"Weren't you listening?!" Alice screeched unbelievingly. "If had reversed the pattern of rotating corn crops every year, it would result in--"

"Okay, maybe I don't want to know," I admitted dejectedly.

"This is serious Edward! I really need to know what happened today," she said in a completely different voice. "I want to help in any way I can. Please talk to me."

She came to sit down next to me. I sighed, but decided it was worth the risk to tell her and try to figure this problem out.

"I'm not really sure. I just felt…trapped. Baited, if you will." Alice looked at me encouragingly, and I continued. "It was horrible. I felt as if I didn't even know myself, couldn't even recognize my emotions. My… other side, my instincts, took over. I've never felt like that before. It was almost frightening, as if some force inside of me was waiting to lash out, to… to destroy her." I paused. "If only you could have smelled her luscious scent, her divine mouth-watering smell. Then you would have understood, Alice, I couldn't let her get away, I wouldn't! But I had to," I finally finished.

"And you did." Alice gave me a small smile from beside me.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done. But I need to do it again, and keep doing it. I won't put people in jeopardy like that again, Alice. Not ever again.

"Well I think that that's a very good choice," Alice said, as she got up to leave my room, "considering Bella's coming over tomorrow. Bye!" With that, Alice rushed out the door, and closing it behind her.

I sat on the couch, stunned. Bella was coming over? _Tomorrow_? I could barely keep myself in check for two minutes, let alone a whole afternoon! What was Alice thinking? I stood up and wrenched the door open. "Alice!" I called, unnecessarily loud or a family who all possessed super-sonic hearing, "What do you mean she's coming _tomorrow?"_

**A/N: What do you think? I know it wasn't Bella, but it will be in the next chapter. Keep hanging in there, I'll get it up ASAP! And in the mean time... you know what to do! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!!! Thanks a lot! **

**-RW**


	5. A Day With Alice

**A/N: FINALLY an update! For some reason, I had a hard time with this chapter. Thankfully, I had some online help late last night from my good friends Mella (who doesn't have an account, but love to read the stories) and, as always, topazeyes44 who put me ahead of her English essay... sort of. Without them, this chapter may have never gotten up. **

**Disclaimer: As always, I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. I also do not own the Food Network or the show _Iron Chef America_. What, you may ask? You'll see...**

**Chapter 4**

Bella's POV

I stopped the engine of my extremely loved truck, cutting off its earsplitting noise. Walking up to the Cullen's door, I was a little nervous. Of course, Charlie had agreed to let me come. He was very excited that I had made a friend so quickly, especially a Cullen, of whom he thought so highly. Apparently Mr. Cullen was actually Dr. Cullen, and he was a very respectable doctor around Forks.

I have to admit, when Alice first asked me to come over yesterday, I was a little bit worried. I mean, I had just met her, and after less that five hours had probably freaked out her brother. But Alice had reassured me time and time again that it wasn't my fault, and that I shouldn't blame myself for what had happened. Yet I still had a nagging feeling that I had done something to upset him; this theory came partially from the fact that Edward hadn't been at lunch today, as if he was deliberately trying to avoid me.

_Well_, I thought, _here goes nothing_, and I rang the doorbell.

The next second, the door swung open and I got a little glimpse of something massive before I was picked up and almost suffocated. "Bella!" it shouted excitedly.

"Emmett," I stammered, "Can't…breathe…"

"Oh… sorry!" He let me down and gave me a big smile. "Alice had been waiting for you. Come in!"

After regaining my balance, I followed Emmett through the house. I had assumed that it would be impressive, of course; their driveway had been about three miles long, and for the last few minutes before I reached their house I had been afraid that my truck would run out of gas. But when I first stepped in the door, my breath was completely taken away.

The entire back wall of their first room was a window, and the room itself was open and welcoming. Stairs swooped up the right side of the room, and a single grand piano sat in the left corner in front of me. For a moment I was awestruck, but then Emmett's head popped out of the doorway to my left. "Bella? Alice is in here." I quickly walked into the room, and saw an enormous flat screen TV on the wall. Alice sat opposite it, smiling to herself.

When I came in, she looked up at me, and patted the seat on the couch next to her. "Hey Bella! Sit down! Have you ever seen the show _Iron Chef America_? It's a Friday night special!"

I sat next to her and shook my head. The television was indeed turned to the show Iron Chef America, and the two chefs were facing off in an 'arena'. I had never had a desire to watch the food network before, but now that I was watching this fast-paced cook-off, I was deeply intrigued. After a couple of seconds, I heard Alice mumble something next to me. But I must have been mistaken, because it sounded like she was laughing at the word 'food'.

"Food… he he…" she would mutter, and then shake her head disbelievingly. The first time this happened, I ignored it. But the second time I knew I hadn't imagined the sound, and asked her what was the matter. "Oh," she said, seeming startled that I had heard her. "I just find it funny that some people actually call _that_ food."

"What?" I asked incredulously. "Chicken? Everyone eats chicken."

"Well… I don't," she told me in a would-be casual voice. "I'm a…uhh…vegetarian."

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't eat chicken then," I commented. After that we got back to watching the show. Alice didn't seem to want to talk about her eating habits, so I didn't push the subject.

"Here. Let me show you around," Alice suggested half an hour later, after the Iron Chef had been deemed the winner. I shrugged and voiced a barely audible "Okay". Alice took that as an invitation to grab my hand and skip out of the room, dragging me behind her.

First she showed me the kitchen, off of the initial open room I had seen when I arrived. Strangely, there was no food in that room, except for a bowl of what I assumed were pieces of fruit. However, they looked so old and rotten that it was hard to tell. I pointed this out to Alice, but it didn't seem to faze her; her only reactions were to pick one up and say, "I think this was a peach," then toss it into an empty trash bin.

Next she showed me the second floor of her house. We passed by the first door because it was Dr. Cullen's study. The second door on the right, however, was Alice's room. And boy, was I in for a big surprise.

My room at Charlie's house wasn't small, but it's not like it was one of those just-plain-ridiculous rooms you always see on TV or in magazines.

Alice's room was. Just plain ridiculous, I mean…only bigger.

And as if that wasn't enough, her _bathroom_ was about five times as big as my NORMAL room. No lie.

It can compete with a stand-up shower, a bathtub with jets, a double sink, a large counter holding more accessories than I had ever seen before, a wall-length mirror, and finally, a huge closet stuffed with hair-care products, skin creams, and plenty of other possessions I couldn't see. I guess my mouth was probably gaping open, because Alice let out a musical laugh and said "Carlisle and Esme (her adopted father and mother) know I love this kind of stuff, and its just sort of… accumulated over the years."

When we went back out to the hallway to finish the tour, I noticed something strange. "Alice," I asked, "where's your bed?"

"What?" Alice said, stopping in her tracks, the smile falling off her face.

"Well, I mean… I was just wondering…it just seems a little unusual, not having a bed, and all…"

"Oh, its okay! It's nothing! No reason." she replied, still a little uneasy. "It's just…we, uh, didn't get it back from the store yet. The…leg was broken, so we…had it fixed. But its coming back today," she finished, not quite looking me straight in the eye.

I wondered what was really the matter, but again, I didn't push the subject. If Alice didn't want to talk about it then I wouldn't make her.

As I followed Alice down the hall of the Cullen's' home, I noticed how Alice's dancing motion was a bit harder to keep up with. It almost seemed as if she was _trying_ to hide something from me...

But Alice wouldn't do that. And if she was, there was probably a perfect explanation for why she didn't want me to know.

Alice pointed out each room as we went down the hall, and each door had a different name that went with it. I was so wrapped up in the whole scenery of the house that I hadn't realized it before. It wasn't just Alice's room that didn't have a bed. None of the rooms did! Each room we passed made it clearer that the Cullens did not sleep. Wait. No. It couldn't be. What was I thinking?

When the tour of the house was done, it was about 9:30, and time for me to get home. I was tired, and I would have a long Saturday ahead of me tomorrow. Why? Because Alice had asked me to go shopping with her.

"Please Bella?" she begged. "We could get you something too! And if you wanted, I would totally pay for it!" When I told her that I would never let her buy me anything (let along go shopping if there wasn't a real need), she replied. "Well then you can help me! I haven't been shopping in, like two whole days! I'm practically dying, here! Please Bella? _Please_??"

There went Alice's puppy face. I might as well have admitted it: resistance was useless. I finally agreed to go with her, and we decided to meet at her house around 5:30 the next evening.

As I got into my truck and waved goodbye to Alice, I tried to mentally prepare myself. _Spending a day with Alice can't be _that_ bad_, I told myself. But I was wrong. Extremely, hopelessly wrong.

**A/N: As this chapter finally comes to a close, please don't kill me with all your comments about how bad it was. As I said to my friends who were helping me "I need to finish this so that Bella can come back tomorrow and BAM all the good stuff will happen!" So, as I said, Something good will happen in the next chapter. **

**But for now, REVIEW! I love hearing your comments, and if you have any suggestions, I will absolutely take them to heart. You guys rule! Hakuna Matata,**

**-RW **


	6. Oi Vey!

**A/N: Phew! Sorry that took so long guys. It would have been up early on TUESDAY, but my computer wouldn't let me log into my account, so I couldn't post this chapter. Thankfully, my extremely fantastic and amazing friend topazeyes44 (who by the way has her own story which you should read) let me load this chapter on her computer, so we're all set to go! Hopefully this problem won't happen next time. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5**

Bella's POV

I turned down that long, three-mile driveway for the second time in two days. I was a little early; it was only about 5:00 instead of 5:30, but Charlie had encouraged me to go early to make a good impression.

I had to admit, I was still a bit skeptical about shopping with Alice. I couldn't even remember the last time I had gone shopping for pleasure. Up until about four days ago, I had lived with my mom Renee in Phoenix. There was always enough money to get by, but not enough to have frequent shopping sprees. This had never bothered me, nor did it bother me now. It was just the way I had always lived.

Finally I reached the Cullen's house. Their garage was closed, but some lights were on in the house. I grabbed my small purse and ran up to Alice's front door as quickly as I could; it was raining again. I rang the doorbell, and then waited a couple minutes for someone to come to the door. When no one did, I rang it again. This time, a slightly annoyed, musical voice said "Just let yourself in already, Jeeze."

I was a little taken aback at first. But I quickly regained my composure, and did what Edward's velvety voice had told me to. Slowly, I pushed open the front door and stepped inside. When I saw that no one was there, I cautiously called out "Hello? Alice? Are you there?"

I expected to see Alice's small graceful figure fly around the corner or down the stairs, but instead I turned around and—

Someone's hand swiftly covered my mouth, while the other held me firmly where I was. I couldn't move a muscle or make a sound.

Edward's POV

The doorbell rang.

I wasn't sure, but I didn't think Debussy sounded _quite_ the same when there was a ringing doorbell in the middle of a song.

I sighed, a little agitated. My family was supposed to be coming back from their hunting trip about now, so I assumed that it was Emmett at the door early with the deer I had asked him to get for me. I hadn't gone hunting with my family because after acting so strangely toward Bella, I had taken immediate precautions and gone hunting the very next night after I had first seen her. I had made sure that I wasn't the least bit hungry in case I saw her again soon.

It was for this reason that I was more than I little annoyed that Emmett had rang the doorbell again. I admit that I was a little testy with him. "Just let yourself in already, Jeeze," I hollered down the stairs from my room. I heard the door open and close cautiously on the floor below me.

I then tried to tune into Emmett's thoughts, but strangely found that they were focused on not crashing into a tree while he ran back home through the forest, meaning that he wasn't anywhere near the house. But then who else could be here?

And that was when I smelled her.

Her scent was as breathtaking as I remembered it, wafting over me in great waves. Oh, I could just picture myself sinking my teeth into her tender skin, drinking her luscious-tasting blood…

_No._ I told myself firmly. I wouldn't let my vampire instincts get the best of me. Just because I was condemned to this eternal horror-movie of a life didn't mean I had to live like the monster I was.

But then I remembered Emmett. He was coming back home, that much I had seen in his thoughts. Oh no, this couldn't be good, what would happen when he did? I needed to warn him, and fast. But first, I had to take care of Bella.

Bella's POV

The creature turned me around in its arms, careful not to let me go. But when I saw its gorgeous, flawless face, all I could think was _Oh no, not again._

I was looking straight into the face of Edward Cullen. I'm sure I was probably blushing something awful, too.

Then I looked at his deep topaz eyes, and I thought for a minute that I saw conflict in his brilliant features. Almost as if he wanted something, but couldn't have it for some reason. He seemed to be exhibiting an amazing amount of control.

I tried to speak, but his hand was still in front of my mouth. Even if it hadn't been, however, I still would have been too stunned to speak. But Edward wasn't.

"Bella," his smooth silky voice cooed. Oh, I loved the way my name sounded formed by his brilliant mouth… _Stop that!_ I thought. _This is exactly what got me in trouble last time!_ But Edward wasn't done talking. "You need to listen to me. I need you to go upstairs to my room, and I need you to hide. It doesn't matter where; I don't care. Just stay there until Alice or myself comes to get you. Do you understand me?"

He must have seen the confusion in my eyes, because it was definitely there. What was Edward being so protective of? What was the matter? Had I missed something?

His face softened at my incomprehension. "Nothing's wrong," he told me unconvincingly. "It's just something I don't think… I don't think you'll _appreciate_. I just don't want you to worry over nothing." He seemed sincere, and those gleaming topaz eyes were luring me in. Unknowingly, I nodded, and he quickly brought me upstairs to his room. Just like I had seen before on my speedy tour with Alice, there was a black leather couch in his room, but no bed. Then he left me and ran back downstairs. I wasn't sure where to hide, so I just closed the door for the time being. I wasn't sure why Edward was so worried, but it couldn't hurt to do what he said

Emmett's POV

Tree left, tree right. God, where did all these trees come from? I mean, I knew I was in a forest, but still. Trees, trees, and more—EDWARD! Hey what was he doing here? I was about at the house anyway, so I didn't see why he needed to meet me halfway. I decided to ask him… as I ran past him to the front door.

"HEY EDWARD! I GOT YOUR DEER!" I held up the carcass to show him. I was at the door by then, so I waited as Edward turned around to come back and talk to me. I could already see his face! Oh wait… he didn't look very happy… I don't really like it when Edward's mad…

But then I looked closer, and saw that it was more worried than mad. "Edward, what's wrong?" I asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Sure. Everything's fine, Emmett. But you _cannot_ go into the house. Do you hear me? There's a human in there, and if she sees you with that thing-- "

Ha! Edward was trying to trick me again, just like he did when I was newly turned, and it was my first time around humans. He actually believed that I was that gullible to fall for it again! Well not this time. Besides, I would be able to smell a human right off the bat if one was here. And that was exactly what I pointed out to Edward.

"Emmett! I am NOT trying to trick you! There's a real human in our house! Whatever you do, don't go in!"

I rolled my eyes, but eventually agreed not to go in… anything to get Edward off my back.

So I told him (and thought, too) that I would be a good little vampire while he went and warned the rest of the family. But once he took off and was about 100 miles away, I ran into the house as fast as I could. He wasn't going to trick me again. I was on to him this time.

So I went about my business as usual. I ran up into my room through the window, and decided that I would leave Edward's deer in his bathroom. He could enjoy it by himself in there.

I walked out of my room to see one very confused human girl coming out of Edward's room. And her name was Bella Swan.

I'm not really sure what happened. I just froze like a deer in headlights.

And just like the deer I was currently carrying, I was dead. Way dead.

Why? Because she saw me, too.

For about a minute, we both stood there looking like idiots. Well, at least I did. I was a six-foot five vampire carrying a deer carcass for crying out loud! She would have been crazy not to be scared out of her mind!

I slowly backed away. Oh God, I could just imagine what Edward was going to do to me. Now that I tried, I _could_ smell her. Not excessively, but definitely enough to know that she was there. Edward was NOT going to be happy.

Bella's POV

HOLY COW. GEE WIZ. OI VEY! This could _not_ be happening. I must be dreaming. Yes, that was it. I could pinch myself, or something, and I would wake up.

Ouch!

Crap, I wasn't sleeping.

That meant that I really was hiding in Alice's room, trying very hard not to start hyperventilating… and had just seen Emmett Cullen standing in the hallway with blood on his face and a dead DEER CARCASS in his arms.

The words 'bad day' didn't even _begin_ to cover it.

Then I heard two muffled voices coming from downstairs. I opened Alice's door an inch to listen.

"Did I NOT tell you that there was a human in the house?" Edward's breathtaking voice scolded.

"Yes..." Emmett mumbled very quietly.

"And did I also tell you not to go into the house until Alice or I got back??"

"Yes," said Emmett's voice, barely audible from my hiding place.

"Then why," said Edward, who I could tell was using all his willpower not to scream at the top of his voice, "did you GO in the house, NOT wait for Alice or myself, and probably scare poor Bella halfway to Australia and back by now??? If I hadn't heard your thoughts worrying about what I was going to do, then you might still be up there staring at her like an idiot!" He stopped for a minute. "Thank you Jasper," he said in a much calmer voice. "Alice, I think you should go see if Bella is alright… and make sure she doesn't want to call the police, FBI, or the Department of Homeland Security of that matter."

Alice must have nodded, because I heard slow, deliberate footsteps make their way up the stairs. I immediately closed the door to Alice's room. I knew very well that if they were what I suspected, a closed door wouldn't do very much good. Still, it made me feel safer.

Then I heard a soft rapping at the door, and I closed my tear-filled eyes. Alice's musical voice came softly though the door.

"Bella…" she started sounding concerned , "can I come in?"

**A/N: If you want to know about what prank Edward pulled on Emmett, read the story _My Green Flame_ by my good friend topazeyes44!! The part about Edward's prank isn't in her story yet, but you can enjoy what she's written so far until she updates.**

**I'm sorry, but I may not be able to update soon. I kinda have a report that I've been putting off, and it's due in about a week, so I need to get to it. And coincidently, I'm doing **_**Twilight** _**for that report too! If anyone has any suggestions or has anything they would like to see in this story later on, you can e-mail me or post it in the comments. I'm open to any ideas! Oh, and I think I made it so that even if you don't have an account on you can post a review anyway. Until next time, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!! Hakuna Matata,**

**-RW**


	7. To Tell, or Not To Tell

**A/N: ok guys, sorry that took so long. like i said, i was busy (and got sick... yucky). but here it is! thanks to librina for helping me edit & such. enjoy!**

**Chapter 6**

Alice's POV

It's a good thing Carlisle doesn't keep matches in the house, because if he did Edward and Emmett would be _so_ dead right now.

After I drove Bella home and told her my excuse, I had a nice, friendly chat with them. Sure, I let out all that 'I will release my super-pyro powers on you TENFOLD!' judo crap, but after Jasper calmed us all down, we conversed in a tranquil environment using soothing voices to let each other know our feelings in a composed, peaceful manner.

In other words, I threatened them with fire and Atomic Wedgies.

I then explained to them that I had made up a story to tell Bella.

"Thanks to you two idiots, I had to make up an excuse for why Emmett was acting like the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Thankfully, you have a brilliant sister," I flattered myself, patting my beautiful spiky hair, "so I've solved all your problems." _I may have had to lie to her,_ I thought, _but at least Bella doesn't hate us… well, she doesn't hate me._

"You _lied_ to her??" Edward accused incredulously, reading my thoughts for the millionth time.

"Well what did you want me to do?" I countered. "It's not like I could tell her the truth!"

"Yes you could have," he said calmly. "She might have understood."

I couldn't believe what he was saying. "But Edward," I tried to reason with him, "how would you have reacted if you were in her situation? If your friend told you that they were part of a family of vampires who drank animal blood to survive, didn't sleep, didn't age, didn't have to _breathe_, and had all died over 50 years ago, you wouldn't just say 'well alrighty then' and skip out the door to go pick daisies! You would be scared!"

"Maybe if that friend had realized that they shouldn't befriend a human earlier, none of this would have happened," Rosalie cut in nastily from her silent position next to the counter.

But no, she wasn't right. She couldn't be. This was _not_ my fault. All I had done was make friends with a lonely new girl and invited her to come shopping with me. As far as I was concerned, I had done nothing wrong.

But Rose wasn't done. "Involving a mortal? It couldn't have had any good outcome," she sneered at me. "Although you shouldn't take all the blame," she continued, her voice dripping with false charm. "Edward and Emmett are also at fault. You could have endangered our whole family and everything we've been working so hard for. It's just another reason why humans should not butt-in where they don't belong," she said, a triumphant smile on her face.

I was about to comment, but Edward surprisingly stepped in first. "It's not her fault she got involved with us, Rose. Bella is not to blame here." I eyed Edward, trying to figure out why he was defending Bella. But apparently Rosalie thought she had found a reason.

"Oh, I see how it is," she said, her eyebrows rising, the smile growing on her face. "Edward doesn't want to blame poor _Bella_. It's not _her_ fault. Well I've got news for you Edward: Bella is just another human. There is nothing special about her, not matter what you think. If you've grown so fond of her, maybe you should explain our little situation to her yourself." She gave him a sickly sweet smile, thinking she had won the argument. Rosalie then turned on her three-inch stiletto heels, and left the room.

But after just a couple seconds of my family's ominous looks and Edward's blank stare, I couldn't take it any more; I ran upstairs at my fastest vampire speed and slammed my door shut.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

There was a knock at my door.

It opened to reveal Edward's stony face coming forward to a stop next to me, looking out my window. He stood beside me, knowing my thoughts, feeling my anger and frustration. After a while, he started talking to me.

"Alice," Edward said, "I know you don't want to scare Bella by telling her, but…" He paused. "But I think—"

Edward's voice was suddenly cut off, but not because he had stopped talking.

_Empty blackness filled in before my eyes. A minuscule picture was rushing quickly forward, rapidly becoming less blurry, easier for me to comprehend. Shapes were becoming visible. Places, and people, too. Finally, I could hear their voices._

_One was musical and lower than the other, obviously male. A girl's voice floated together with the boy's, and they were discussing something in hushed, urgent tones._

"_Bella," Edward's figure said, catching up to her and turning her around on the main school sidewalk to the parking lot. "I need to tell you something."_

"_Edward!" Bella said sounding flustered. "W-what's the matter? You seem… worried." She studied his face closer, but she only became more confused. When he still didn't answer, she continued. "You're impossible to read. What's wrong?"_

_Edward sighed, and then said, more hurriedly than before, "Most of my family would prefer I didn't tell you this. But I feel that it's necessary." He paused. "Bella, I need you to know—"_

Edward was in front of me again, holding my shoulders.

"Alice! Are you okay? What did you see?" He sounded concerned. But right then, I didn't care.

"EDWARD! HOW COULD YOU TELL HER?? SHE'S PERFECTLY FINE NOT KNOWING!" I screeched. Super-sonic hearing or not, he was going to get a very loud earful.

Comprehension dawned on Edward's face. "But Alice, do you honestly believe—"

"Yes! She believes that Emmett likes to hunt, and that he was skinning the deer and got blood on his face getting the bullet out because that's what I told her! She's _all right_. I don't need you to go and mess everything up!" I vented, horrified that he would even be _thinking_ of telling her. But to my utter disbelief, Edward chuckled.

"She actually _believed_ that?" he asked me with a smile on his face.

"Of course she did," I said, a little warily.

"Alice, she's not stupid. Bella knows that something's going on; she'd have to be an idiot not to." He then said in a more serious tone, "If she were really your friend, you would tell her the truth, and not keep secrets from her."

I was appalled. How come Edward had to choose right now to become Mr. Ethics? I decided to take a different approach to my argument.

"Oh, so I guess we should just go around and tell everyone in the entire world that we're vampires, huh? Because they would take that _so_ well, and the Volturi would love that. Oh yeah, everyone would get along and understand great." I gave him a look that went along with my heavy sarcasm.

"But Alice," Edward fought back, "Bella isn't just some random person. She's your friend. The first real friend you've had in almost a century! Trust me, people like her don't come around every day…" he trailed off, then looked urgently up at me, as if realizing that he'd said too much. But I was too mad to think of any alternative meanings that came from Edward's warped mind.

"Maybe you should just stay out of this, Edward, because you know what? It's really not any of your business. So just- just go away! I'm a big girl; I can handle it by myself. But don't tell her, you hear me?" I yelled, angry and frustrated. Screaming at him seemed to be the only way to get through to him.

Edward looked at me for a minute, and then started toward my door. But before he opened it, he said, almost as if talking to others as well as me, "Alice, I will respect your wishes as completely as I can, but I am still going to do what I feel is best for Bella; she deserves that much. If you cant give that to her, then I will."

He opened the door to reveal our brothers and sister leaning inward toward my door, as if listening to the softest detail of our conversation, though they had obviously already heard it all. I glared at them, daring them to come any closer. Edward, however, gave them and me a small smile, said "Hello," then walked down the hall and stepped down the stairs.

"Ugh!" I moaned, throwing my hands into the air. What a mess! There was only one this that could help me get through a time like this.

"Carlisle! Esme! I'm going shopping!" I screamed as I ran down the stairs and out to my car. "I'll be back in a couple of hours!" Then, just for good measure, I thought as hard as I could, _Edward, you had better not tell Bella, or I will do worse than kill you!_

"Obviously," he said while playing the piano, never missing a beat. I groaned again, knowing he was talking to me. I jumped into my car and gunned the engine; the sooner I got to the mall, the better.

**A/N: well? how was it? review please!! and tell your friends! tell your enemies! tell your camp friends that enjoy making orange brownies, or your priest who loves playing the guitar and driving people mad! and yes... these are all real people. trust me.**

**Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy** **Holidays! Hakuna Matata,**

**-RW**


	8. Vladgor

**A/N: thanks for all the reviews! and i'm sorry this one took a long time too... my parents surprised my family with an early vacation, and our flight was delayed on the way home. this chapter goes out to the Simple Clan ;) **

**so without any more excuses to keep you waiting, here it is!**

**ps: the title really doesn't have anything to do with the story. it's just a monument to a creepy guy i saw and named. Vladmir, Igor... we couldn't decide.**

**Chapter 7**

Edward's POV

As I played the piano, I thought. I also tuned out everyone's thoughts within about a 100-mile radius—talk about radio static.

Music had always calmed me down, and after my talk with Alice I really needed that. I tried to gather my thoughts from today.

Bella deserved to know about us, and there was no way she could have believed Alice's excuse. No possible way. If this hadn't been such a serious matter, I would have thought she was joking.

And then there was Bella herself. There was something about her, more than any other human I had ever met. First, she was so shy, but absolutely trusting. Once she got to know our family she seemed right at home with us. However, I knew she was clumsy. I remembered the first day she had come to Forks High School. I had heard some boys thinking about a pretty girl who had tripped in the biology room, and had seen the reenactment in their minds. I laughed at the memory, just like I had laughed when I had seen it the first day. And that was another thing: Bella was funny, even though she didn't know it. When I was in my room trying to keep away from her on that first Friday she had been over—could it be possible that it was only yesterday? —I had heard her laughing and joking along with Alice… something about disgusting uses of liver in ice cream. I had again found myself chuckling at least twice at her jokes.

But that was absurd. She was nice, kind, and funny (and she did have an adorable blush). However, I was a vampire. I wasn't sure how much of this… attraction I was feeling to her had to do with her had to do with my yearn for her blood. Her wonderful, luscious, sweet-smelling blood—

Exactly. Staying away from Bella was the best possible thing for her, and I knew it.

But yet, I couldn't. She was drawing me nearer, entrancing me with her spell. Resistance was not only useless, but was now intolerable. There was no way I could live with this lie we were expecting her to believe.

I would have nothing to do with her after I told her the truth. I would not let myself develop feelings for her. I _didn't_ have feelings for her yet, I told myself.

Now I just had to believe that.

This was going to be a long weekend.

Bella's POV

I crawled into bed after an extremely long shower. Charlie had wondered why I had come home so early, but I told him we had just decided to stay at the Cullen's house instead of shopping, and we had both gotten tired. It was easy enough to make an excuse to tell him. Just like the excuse Alice had made up for me.

I knew it was an excuse, of course. I hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings, because I could see in her eyes that it was a pleading excuse. She hoped that I would forgive her, and I couldn't turn that down. So I pretended.

But regardless of what she had said, I knew. I knew that they were monsters.

At least Emmett was. But if pale, cold skin and good looks were part of being a monster, they all came with the packaged deal. They were monsters. Yet I didn't hold that against them.

I might have been crazy. But they didn't seem to want to hurt me. If Emmett had wanted to, I'm sure he could have killed me right there on the spot, and I would have ended up just like that deer he had been holding.

Instead, I was safe in my house, thanks to those monsters. Whatever they were, I trusted them.

There was only one thing that minutely bothered me. I wished that Alice would have trusted me enough to keep their secret, because I completely would have. It didn't matter what happened on Monday, but I knew that if I were the Cullens, I wouldn't want anyone blabbing to everybody. So I wouldn't.

I sighed, turning over in my bed. This was going to be a long weekend.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Monday 

Edward's POV

I was determined. Bella was going to find out what we were today, and nothing was going to stop me, not even Alice. I know, I know, 'famous last words'. But I really meant it. Bella had the right to understand everything if she chose to, which I knew she would.

The doors to the gym opened, and the class flooded out. I waited patiently beside the door frame, watching all the sweaty adolescents walking by me. Finally I spotted Bella, being slightly harassed my Mike Newton. She wasn't enjoying his company one bit.

"So then I was like, 'Whoa dude, chill out!' and then he was like 'there's sand (sniff) and shells'. And then I was like, 'I don't really care about your sand and shells…"

Bella's eyes stared off into the distance, looking hopefully out the window. They strayed around the corridor glancing everywhere. For a split second they landed on me, but she quickly looked away while her face turned bright red. I smiled to myself, and then decided to put her out of her misery.

"Bella!" I called out as she and Mike stepped out the doors and onto the sidewalk. They both turned around. Bella's face was still a little pink, but it turned redder when she heard my voice. However, she gave me a thankful smile in return. Mike, on the other hand, didn't seem to appreciate me taking all Bella's attention away from himself. _Cullen!_ he thought nastily. _He'd better not take away my girl!_

That made me chuckle, because Bella certainly wasn't thinking the same thing. I decided to find out. I then took a look into Bella's mind.

But when I tried to peek into her thoughts, something strange and unusual happened. Or rather, it didn't happen. When I shut out everyone else's thoughts and only concentrated on Bella's, there was nothing there. It wasn't as if her thoughts were blurry, slurred, or she had a bubble-brain; the thoughts simply weren't there for me to hear, though I'm sure she had to be thinking something. I just couldn't figure it our. This had never happened to me before. It was extremely puzzling, and I tried again, to no avail. Bella's voice snapped me back into reality.

"Edward?" she asked, a little warily. "Did you want something?"

"Oh, uh, yes," I recovered, realizing we had been walking, and were on the sidewalk. "I was, erm, wondering if I could have a word…um…alone?" I asked with a meaningful glance at Mike. She understood immediately, and turned to face him.

"Well, Mike, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Uh, have a good afternoon…" She trailed off waiting for him to leave.

Unbeknown to Bella, I gave him a smirk_. Ugh, that Cullen! He thinks he's so slick! Well, I'll show him!_ His thoughts flowed freely, my smile widening with each one. He looked at Bella, then at me, and finally back at Bella. He then started to back away, saying, "Yeah see you later Bella… Cullen." He gave Bella a grin and nodded curtly to me before turning and walking to his car. Then Bella and I were alone.

She was looking at me, be once I acknowledged it, she turned away. "Shall we?" I asked, indicating walking down the sidewalk together. She nodded, and we continued.

Just to be careful, I checked my family's thoughts before talking to Bella. Jasper and Carlisle were out of range hunting since their trip had been cut short on Saturday. Esme was humming to herself as she cleaned up the house. Emmett and Rosalie were… occupied. Last but not least, Alice. When I tuned into her thoughts, she was reciting 'We Didn't Start The Fire' by Billy Joel backward in Swahili. Finishing that, she went on to mentally go through all the Guitar Hero tabs for every song in the entire trilogy—the extended collector's edition set. This couldn't be a good sign. If she was deliberately trying to keep me from her thoughts, she was bound to have anticipated something to keep me from my goal. But I had to go ahead with what I had intended to do anyway. Besides, I had everything planned out. First I would tell her, and then explain everything so that Alice couldn't stop me in the middle. But still, I would have to hurry. Most everyone was gone from the parking lot, so it was now or never.

I took Bella gently by the shoulders. "Bella, I need to tell you something."

"Edward!" Bella sputtered, blushing even deeper. I took a moment to control my thirst for her blood as she continued. "W-what's the matter? You seem… worried." She studied my face more closely. How ironic was it that she could read my so easily, yet my power had no effect on her? "You're impossible to read." How very wrong she was; she had just done it perfectly. "What's wrong?"

I let out a sigh to ready myself for what I was about to tell her. In the back of my mind, I realized that I was still holding her shoulders. I didn't let go.

"Most of my family would prefer I didn't tell you this," I said hurriedly. "But I feel that it's necessary." I looked directly into her deep, chocolate eyes. "Bella, I need you to know—"

_EDWARD! COME QUICK! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!!!_

Alice's thoughts flooded my brain. I paused; Bella was still eying me intently I tried to start talking again, but Alice's thoughts overpowered me.

_EDWARD! I NEED YOU! SOMETHING JUST HAPPENED! I can't BELIEVE that you're ignoring me, this is IMPORTANT! Please Edward, just come, then you can go right back to whatever you're doing, I promise! Just come to the house QUICK!_

I groaned, reluctantly letting go of Bella. She looked at me questioningly, but I knew I had to leave, if only for a minute. "Bella, I have to go, I'm not sure how long it'll take. But I need to tell you something very important. I'm so sorry! I'll… I'll see you tomorrow!"

I ran away at normal speed until I got off the school grounds. After that I was at the house in a matter of seconds.

"Alice!" I yelled. "Alice, where are you?"

"Up in my room!" came Alice's urgent voice.

I sprinted up the stairs and rammed open her door. There she was, sitting in a chair. And she didn't look harmed in any way, shape, or form…

Oh my God. I was so stupid. Idiotic. An imbecile. But I decided to ask anyway, just to confirm it.

"What… what's the emergency?"

"Well," Alice started, examining her nails, "Jasper was having a little… trouble."

"With what?" I demanded.

Still not meeting my gaze, she said, "With… tying his shoe."

Definitely moronic. "Alice! Jasper. Is. Out. HUNTING!" I seethed, annunciating every syllable.

She gave me an innocent look. "Oh. My bad. And Edward, there's really no need to yell; I can hear you just fine." She smiled, then got to her feet and walked past me to her door. "Tootles!" she said, waving her fingers at me before scampering away.

I stood in the door for a minute before gaining control. I was too mad to go back and see if Bella was still in the parking lot. But when I was finally in command of myself, I had only one thought on my mind.

Oh, it is _on_.

**A/N: so do you like Alice's devious little plan? it's not going to last a very long time, so don't worry. Edward will tell Bella soon enough... hopefully. Mwuhaha! **

**Happy New Year! Hakuna Matata (ha Dodo!)**

**Your New Year's Resolution: I will review... haha just kidding**

**-RW**


	9. The Mind is a Dangerous Place

**A/N: ok, this chapter is mostly Bella's thoughts, which might have been why it was hard to write. a big thank you to topazeyes44 who (once again) helped me a whole lot with this chapter. and to all you people who review, it really does encourage me to write more and faster. thanks!**

**Chapter 8**

Bella's POV

I put my truck into gear, pulling out of the parking lot. I wanted to stay and wait, but I had to get food for Charlie. Besides, I knew I would see him tomorrow.

Edward.

My heart skipped a beat when I thought of him, but I decided to put him out of my mind for now.

After a couple of painful minutes, I realized that doing so wasn't going to work.

Everything I saw reminded me of him, or our conversation. Well, his conversation actually. Every time I talked to him (a grand total of twice) I was unconsciously being drawn in by his captivating crooked smile, his vast, and limitless topaz eyes, so much so that I was unable to form one coherent sentence in his presence.

I shook my head while driving. Whichever soap opera TV channel my mind was currently tuned on, I needed to snap out of it. Besides the fact that I was being extremely pathetic and largely unhealthy, Alice was the only true friend I presently had in Forks, and I wasn't going to ruin our friendship because I was practically obsessing over her brother to the point of boarder-line insanity.

The Forks grocery store was pretty small, but it had mostly everything I needed to cook for Charlie and myself. I went around gathering all the usual supplies: eggs, bread, sugar, and broccoli (Charlie would _lov_e that). My wondering eventually took me to the frozen food section. I decided to pick up a frozen pizza in case I was ever out so that Charlie wouldn't starve. Of course, that was assuming he knew how to use an oven. I made a mental note to teach him when I got home.

As I picked up the box, I noticed its temperature: chilly, but not unpleasantly so. Just like _his_ skin.

It was cold and hard, almost like granite or marble, but still inviting. I had felt the iciness through my shirt when he had held my shoulders. His touch was gentile, as if something stronger was being held back behind his calm display. It would be wonderful to feel his skin again, to look into those impenetrable topaz eyes—

A woman passed by me in the isle, thankfully interrupting the flow of thoughts that had momentarily been running through my brain. For some reason, she wore the most curious look, seeming both amused and slightly befuddled. She had a half grin on her face, one eyebrow raised while the other remained in place. As soon as I looked at her, she stifled a little laugh and walked briskly away. For a moment, I was perplexed by her peculiar behavior.

Then I realized that I was still holding the pizza box, which was being gently caressed in my arms. I immediately stopped, and shoved it into my cart. I then decided to go someplace less dangerous: the spices section.

When I had lived in Phoenix, my mother used to make the most wonderful Alfredo sauce. It would always smell of the spices she used in her 'secret recipe'. It was one of the only edible things she made, so I enjoyed it immensely, no matter what it was on.

I wasn't quite sure what spices she used, but I knew I would be able to tell when I smelled them. So I went through the rack, holding them up to my nose one at a time. I took some crushed cloves, basil, and one other spice with a foreign name that I couldn't pronounce. There were so many smells, each unique and different from one another, but fragrant all the same.

But then I remember another more wondrous smell. _His_ smell.

It was intoxicating, yet I still couldn't seem to get enough of it. Every time I inhaled his scent, it was an even better sensation than before. The smell couldn't be any type of lotion or processed product, because there was nothing in the world that could ever smell like it. His compelling aroma put all cologne to shame.

_Get a grip Bella!_ I told myself firmly, as I walked out of the spice isle. Obviously seasonings were just as dangerous as frozen foods in my Edward Cullen-filled mind.

I decided that I had done enough shopping for one day, and made my way toward the checkout counter. On the way, I passed other common grocery store items, each seemingly innocent enough: Milk, hair-care products and other items, just to name a few. But if they were so innocent, why did they keep reminding me of him?

His gorgeous, pale skin; uninterrupted, and smooth as flowing milk. His brilliant bronze hair. Messy, but natural enough to do a number on any male model's ego.

I couldn't allow myself to think that way about him. It was already blatantly obvious that I thought about him more than I had any right to. Again, I tried desperately to put him out of my mind. Or at least, be able to focus on something else also.

As I waited in line to buy the groceries, I overheard a group of three teenage girls obsessing about a cashier in a booth two lanes over.

"Oh my God, do you think he heard me?"

"That's so sweet if he did, and is just trying not to embarrass you."

"Yeah, that's totally hot of him."

"Oh, he's looking at me! What should I do?"

"Well, don't look at someone else! Just look over at him casually and catch his eye…"

I smiled and rolled my eyes. The cashier wasn't looking at the unfortunate girls at all; on the contrary, he was gazing longingly at the clock, willing it to move faster so his shift would be over. The girls didn't seem to realize that, however, because they went on to compliment his good fashion choice (a work apron), his muscles, and his face.

It wasn't that I thought the poor guy was ugly, it was just that I had unconditionally and unknowingly fallen in love with another, one whom I couldn't forget, no matter how many times I told myself otherwise. And sadly, I knew he was the one who would never return my feelings.

Edward Cullen.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The word 'strange' has a very subjective meaning, and can describe a lot of different things. For example, the blue toilet water in some hotels, that creepy guy forever standing outside the gas station, and even the English language. See? All strange.

And the next few days after Edward talked to me for the second time? Very strange.

The next day between Calculus and Spanish, my two _favorite_ classes, someone hesitantly approached me. It was a boy, so obviously my first reaction was to stare determinedly at my feet. But before he started talking, my eyes betrayed me by wondering to _his_ feet. Feet I knew all too well.

He started to talk, but I wasn't listening. Instead, my eyes traveled up to meet his, and I realized that looking at him and comprehending what he was saying were two completely different tasks, and I had not quite mastered the ability to do them both at the same time.

But whatever Edward was saying, it was probably important. So, with a little difficulty, I pulled myself out of my trance, and was able to hear the last few words of his phrase.

"…Alice's fault," he said, rolling those brilliant topaz eyes. But then he looked at me more seriously and continued. "That's why I couldn't tell you sooner. I would have, you know." He waited for me to comment before talking again.

Feeling that I should probably have been paying more attention to what he had been saying, rather than the rest of him, so I put together what I thought was a perfectly acceptable response. Considering my practically brain-dead position, it was positively brilliant.

"It's okay," I muttered lamely to my feet, where my eyes were (once again) currently residing. That seemed to be the only way I could talk to him.

But then I felt a cold, hard hand on my chin, tentatively lifting my face upward until my eyes met his. It wasn't a firm gesture; I knew I could resist if I wanted to. But I didn't.

"That doesn't matter though." He flashed me a dazzling smile. "Bella—"

Mrs. Cope's voice suddenly came over the intercom, sounding flustered, but hurried all the same. "Edward Cullen, please report to the nurse's office immediately. Again, Edward Cullen to the nurse's office immediately. Thank you." Then the intercom turned off.

Edward groaned softly, a pained look in his eye. He let go of my chin, and stuffed his hand back into his pocket. "Bella…" His beautiful face held discrepancy, but the fiery determination remained behind his words. "I will tell you. I promise." And then he turned and left.

I spent the rest of the day walking around in a daze. Edward Cullen had approached me for the second time in two days. I should have been happy. But for some reason, I wasn't.

It was true that he had talked to me on his own accord, but I was afraid. Afraid that whenever he did tell me whatever was so important, he wouldn't want to talk to me again. He would go back to being incredible Edward Cullen as he usually is, and I would just be regular Bella. We would live our separate lives, maybe crossing paths every once in a while, but not frequently. That was a life I couldn't bare to live.

But there was something else. Conflict and uncertainty resided behind his intense eyes, and in every word he said. I wasn't sure what that conflict was referring to, but I was sure that it had something to do with me.

I remembered the way he had looked at me the first day I saw him. I now realized that it was obvious why he was conflicted; he didn't want to talk to me, but was forcing himself to because he knew he had to. He was being noble, and I was making him pay a price.

But even when I didn't wonder, even when I just enjoyed his velvety voice and his company, there seemed to be a double meaning behind his words. It almost seemed like he was trying to tell me something else at the same time, though I couldn't figure out what.

"Bella! Heads up!" Mike yelled, as the volleyball sailed over the net and nearly took my head off; I ducked just in time.

Maybe paying attention had its advantages… especially while playing a sport in gym class.

**A/N: i hope you liked my interpretation of Bella's mind. the next chapter was originally supposed to be part of this one, but if it was, this chapter would have been really long and it would have taken me a long time to write. so the next chapter is going to be in Edward's POV... it should be interesting. :)**

**i also have a little favor to ask... topazeyes44 is writing a story, but she needs a power for Bella, who just got turned into a vampire. any ideas? any suggestions? if you do have any, please post them in a review or e-mail me. thanks! Hakuna Matata,**

**-RW**


	10. Diabetes & Dilemmas

**A/N: here it finally is! i hope you dont hate me too much for making you wait... school is not fun and i have a term paper to write. ewwww... :)**

**just one more thing: i really appreciate any advice you guys have to give me. but i wish that if you didnt like something, you would tell me what it was about it you didnt like so that i could fix it and make it better. of course, this doesnt apply to most of you. i love getting your reviews! **

**but i will keep writing no matter what, so reviews only saying things along the lines of "it sucked" dont help. i'd much rather have reviews that say "it sucked, but you could do this, this, and this to make it better." not that im encouraging people to write that... haha**

**Chapter 9**

Edward's POV

"Edward Cullen, please report to the nurse's office immediately. Again, Edward Cullen to the nurse's office immediately. Thank you."

The moment I heard Ms. Cope's voice come over the intercom, I knew it couldn't be good. A vampire going to the nurse? Definitely bad news.

I was already in a terrible mood. For the second time in two days, I had confronted Bella, and willed myself to tell her what we really were. For the second time in two days, I had been unsuccessful. Nevertheless, I walked unwillingly down the school hallway to meet my fate. I cautiously opened the door to the nurse's office and peeked in. a grandmotherly woman noticed me and a worrisome look entered her eyes.

"You wanted to see me?" I questioned a little more harshly than necessary.

"Oh, thank goodness you're finally here!" the nurse chirped, bustling around her desk and toward me. "You gave us quite a fright, you know. But never fear, never fear; I have everything we need just in case. That's why I'm here, of course…" She trailed off, rummaging through a drawer.

"Um, excuse me," I started, still at a loss for what she was talking about, "but what's the matter?"

She had reemerged from the drawer, and was coming forward with something concealed in her hands. However, instead of an answer, she laughed. "Dear, it's alright! I've done this before, there's no need to worry. I'm going to do the normal procedure, okay? Just tell me when you're ready." She gave me an encouraging smile.

Still not knowing what she meant, I decided that it was high time to check into her mind. It only took a couple of phrases for me to figure it out; my mood worsened with every word I heard.

_…poor diabetes patients, they're so young, and always afraid to admit that they forgot. Well, all I need now is to test his blood sugar…_

I didn't need to add the needle she had uncovered from her hands to the equation to know that I was in deep trouble. I jumped backwards to delay the blood sugar test, or at least buy myself some more time.

But I couldn't understand it; there must have been some mistake. I wasn't sure where she had heard that I was a diabetic, but I did know that however or _whoever_ had told her was not a friend of mine. My first thought was Mike Newton. Hw seemed like a shifty character, and I knew he wanted Bella badly. But he couldn't have known what a horrible prank he was playing. Would he sink this low just to get back at me for stealing his thunder? After one more little peek into the nurse's thoughts, I knew I was wrong.

_…the poor boy! His sister mentioned something about him becoming a bit temperamental when he has low blood sugar… that must be the problem. Such a sweet girl to care about her brother so much…_

I gritted my teeth, even more angry than before. I could now see what great lengths Alice would go to, just to make sure that Bella never found out. My temper flared, and at that moment the only thing I wanted to do was prove her wrong. I wanted to show her that Bella was millions more that Alice gave her credit for.

But a more important problem had to be delt with at present, and that was the all-too-kindly nurse clambering closer to me with a hollow needle, expecting to momentarily fill it with my nonexistent blood.

I scooted to my left, sidestepping her in one graceful movement. I then channeled all my anger and frustration into deceiving the nurse and making a speedy getaway.

"I'm sorry, but there must be some mistake," I told the aged woman, laying the charm on thickly. "My father is the only one who is aloud to treat me, as I am a very rare and special case." She gazed at me, and I could tell that she wasn't completely convinced. I would have to rely on some of my brains as well as my gifts to persuade her that I was free to go. _Come on Edward_, I told myself. _Two medical degrees has to count for something! _

The nurse staggered on. "But… your sister said…" the poor woman tried desperately to keep up with the conversation, but I gave her another dazzling smile and turned my charm up another notch.

"Ah, but you see, my sister has an especially serious problem as well," I continued, breathing a heavy sigh. "My father had to go into work early this morning, and was gone before any of us woke up. I couldn't calculate my blood sugar because my brothers, sister, and mother were desperately trying to get Alice to take her pills, but my father is the only one who can do that. Unfortunately, if she doesn't take them, she gets a bit…" I searched for the right word, "excessive." I finished, hoping Alice had seen this little flaw in her brilliant plan to distract me. As a final touch, I said, "If you don't mind, I really should go see Carlisle. He knows how to treat me, and I can pick up some of Alice's pills while I'm there. Maybe he can do something to get Alice to take them." I glanced at my watch, and then gave the stunned nurse a worried look. "I just hope I'm not too late, and she's done something drastic." _Like told the school nurse I have diabetes… because she knows that would go over so well._ I turned around and started out the door. "Thanks for all your help," I said, and closed the door behind me.

As soon as I was out of the room, I sprinted to my Volvo. No one was in the hallway anymore, so I didn't have to be as careful as I would normally be. Once I was safely in my car with the music playing in the background, I settled down and waited for school to let out so I could finally tell Bella our secret.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As students began to file out, I attuned my senses. After a couple of seconds, I smelled her getting closer. I hopped out of my car so that I could meet Bella on her way out. Unfortunately, when I finally saw her, the smile faded off my face when I noticed was accompanying her: Alice.

As they walked farther down the sidewalk, Alice looked around warily. The phrase 'Good, Edward's not here' ran through her mind as a satisfied smile played across her lips. That smirk made me even surer that she wasn't going to get off that easily.

So I made up my mind to tell Bella anyway, Alice or no Alice. I mean, if I just blurted it out quickly, she would have no way to stop me and I would be home free. Then Alice would have to let me explain things properly to her.

I walked briskly up behind them. Alice was talking about some extravagant shopping trip she was planning for the both of them this upcoming weekend. I noticed that Bella was a little less than thrilled about this new development, but went along with Alice anyway.

Siding into step with the pair, I leaned forward until my neck was almost touching Bella's shoulder and whispered in her ear. "Hello Bella."

Bella's eyes grew wide, realizing who was talking to her. At the same time, her head spun around with such speed that it may have knocked into mine if I did not possess vampire speed. I then heard a chorus of two very different voices exclaim "Edward!"

On one hand there was Alice, her voice surprised while her eyes shot daggers at me all the while. Annoyance and frustration flared behind her complexion, and she fought to keep a composed face while glaring at me. Even so, all my attention was concentrated on the other person who had called my name: Bella.

Although her voice was flustered, her endless chocolate eyes connected immediately with mine. There was a bond between us as we gazed into each other's eyes that made my stomach turn over. She was so innocent and carefree and compassionate… I wasn't worthy of her affection one bit because of what I was, because of what I could do to her. But denying the feelings I had developed for her was like denying myself blood. Of course, I knew I didn't deserve either of them, and it was all thanks to the monster I was. For an instant I thought that Alice was right; how could such a sweet, guiltless being ever understand a horrible creature like me?

But I had to tell her. I trusted her, more than I could ever even begin to justify. If only because of this, she had a right to know the truth.

"What are you doing here Edward?" Alice seethed, unable to keep the contempt out of her voice. It was obvious that my impeccable timing was something she had not counted on. Tempting as the prospect of mocking Alice was, I had a task to carry out. So I ignored her.

Getting right to the point, I said, "Bella, I finally need to—"

"Edward! Bella is busy at the moment!" Alice was extremely determined not to let my win. However, I matched, if not exceeded her determination to beat her at her own game.

"I am?" Bella asked sounding awfully confused. I smirked at Alice.

"Yes, Edward, as a matter of fact, we are going shopping right now," Alice told me, indicating herself and Bella.

"We are?" Bella's confusion seemed to build with every word Alice said. I didn't need to be able to read her thoughts to figure out that Alice was making this extravagant lie up just so that I couldn't tell her. "I thought we were going shopping this weekend?" Bella said.

"Well it's never too early to start," Alice grumbled, pulling her down the sidewalk and away from me. I followed in hot pursuit.

"Well, I'm not going to stop you," I told Alice when I caught up to them. "I just need to tell Bella something before you go." As I said this to Alice, I turned to face Bella. Her brown, welcoming eyes rested on mine the whole time, willing me to trust her. She had no idea that I did trust her; it was myself that I had to keep in check. Her intoxicating scent wafted over me, knocking the air that I was voluntarily breathing out of my body.

Thankfully, I gained enough control to grab Bella's arm before she was yanked away by Alice. My steady grasp held her firmly as I stared deep into her eyes, and said "Bella, we're v—"

"OH MY GOSH! DID YOU SEE THAT BIRD?" Alice screeched. She held her hands an arm's length apart and continued at that glass-shattering volume. "IT WAS LIKE THIS BIG! I SWEAR!" She gave me a smile fit for an angel and shrugged. "Oh well. I guess you missed it." Bella and I let out enormous sighs (hers considerably softer than mine as not to offend Alice), as I reluctantly let go of her arm.

"Thank you Alice. It's too bad that we missed such a wonderful display of the Animal Kingdom," I said, heavy sarcasm distinctly evident in my voice. I turned back to Bella to try one more time. "But more importantly, Bella… there's no good way to say this, but I need you to know that—"

"WAIT! I THINK I SEE IT! BELLA, LET'S LOOK…NOW!" Alice tugged Bella away form me, and threw a cocky look over her shoulder. Though Bella's expression was exasperated and apologetic, Alice carried on as if I wasn't there. "I can't believe you missed it again! I was so sure it was there." There was that innocent smile again.

Obviously there was no bird, and had never been one. It became evident after many attempts on my part that Alice would stop at nothing to make sure Bella never found out about our family's secret.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The front door slammed shut behind me, hinges squeaking from the force of my anger. I started toward the stairs, climbing them in a huff.

"Hey dude! What took you so long?" Emmett called from the kitchen. I glared at him. "Alice," I muttered darkly as I continued climbing. My foot was on the top step when I heard Alice walk through the door; I could almost see the enormous smile taking up her entire face. I rolled my eyes, frowning with even more gusto as I continued up to my room. Maybe I could just relax for a little while and cool down, possibly think of a new approach to tell Bella. But it seemed that Alice had different plans.

She followed me up the stairs, saying, "Oh, come on Edward, what's your problem? Its not like it was _my_ fault or anything…" she trailed off, as I snapped around to face her, chuckling humorlessly.

"It's not your fault… that's a good one." Turning back to my destination. I heard Alice's footsteps follow me.

"Why are you so intent on telling her anyway, Edward? You didn't do anything wrong… you're not the one who should want to tell her. If anything, _I_ should want to tell her, but I don't. So why do you?" she tried to sound annoyed, but the genuine curiosity wasn't entirely masked in her voice. I huffed for a while, avoiding her question. Because the truth was, I didn't have a real reason myself.

Of course, I had the ideas I told myself, including that she must have figured something out, and she had a right to understand. I knew those were perfectly acceptable reasons, but Alice would see through them in an instant; she would see the one thing I had been continuously trying to deny since the first time I had met Bella.

Not content with my silence, Alice pressed on. "Edward, there has to be some reason. You know you can trust me," she said slyly but truthfully.

"That's exactly it though," I countered, getting exasperated. "I can trust Bella. And I do. A lot." I sighed. By this time we were in my room, and I left Alice to look out one of my windows while I talked. Right after I had finished, I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me and I turned just in time to catch a glimpse of a grin on Alice's face before she covered it with a curious expression. I tried to look into her thoughts, but I again found that they were blocked. Perfect.

"Edward," she said carefully, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I replied, hoping that it would be relatively painless, though I knew it probably wouldn't be.

"Okay." She paused, her face screwed up in concentration. "Do you sometimes find it… hard… to talk to Bella?" she inquired, struggling to find the right words.

I answered immediately. "Of course it is! You keep interrupting me every time I try to say something to her! How do you expect—"

"No, no, that's not what I mean," she intermitted. "I mean, when you talk to her without me there. Is it hard to talk to her? To find the right words to say?"

I thought for a minute. Yes, it was hard to talk to her. I could never seen to put what I was thinking into words well enough for her benefit. But how could I tell Alice that?

She continued talking, thinking I still didn't understand her. "Have you ever found yourself… for example… at a loss for what to say?"

I was flabbergasted. She was exactly right. I was so amazed that I immediately blurted out, "Yes, all the time! Nothing ever seems to come out right when I'm around her. I stumble over my words; I have to think about what I'm saying in case I come out with something stupid by mistake. I don't know what it is; she just has this way about her… it makes me nervous and fascinated at the same time. How… how can that be? It this normal? Am I losing my mind?"

Ranting felt good. I had kept all my worries inside for so long. But now that I had told Alice, I felt a little better. I smiled up at her to let her know the extent of her help, only to see her eyes bugged out of her head, and her tiny mouth hanging wide open, the corners of it twitching upwards.

"Edward!" she squealed, bouncing up and down in place. "Edward, I can't believe it! I can't believe I didn't see this coming! That must have been what it was. I kept wondering why and how I was going to stop you, but now I get it! Oh Edward, you have to, you just have to!"

I stared at her in horror. What was she talking about? "Alice, what's the matter? What did I say?"

"Oh, Edward, can't you see?" She finally settled down, but the big grin remained plastered on her face. "You love her," she stated simply, letting it sink in. my immediate reaction took over quickly.

"No I don't. That's absurd. I cant! I'm… a vampire." I said flatly. "It… it could never work." There was still a hint of sadness in my voice that I couldn't entirely banish as I said the words that had been haunting me. "I mean, what if I do something to her Alice?" I said, getting more and more restless. "What if I lose control? I could never let that happen." I sighed and looked at Alice, ready for her to admit defeat. But a smile still resided on her face.

"You know you wouldn't let that happen," she told me confidently. "And these past few days you've been so happy! Well, except for me butting in and not being able to tell her –my bad, by the way—but when you're with her… Edward, if you could only see yourself. And you think about her constantly, don't even try to deny it." Her smile was as comforting as her words, which I knew she truly meant. I wanted so badly to believe her.

"But now she probably thinks I'm an idiot… a big, blabbering idiot. And I have to wait until tomorrow to tell her…" I frowned. But Alice glanced at the clock in my room and quickly grabbed my arm.

"We still have time! I bet she's still outside reading some classical book…she always is…. If we hurry up, you can still catch her!"

She was excited now, and I felt some of that excitement channel off of her and onto me. I grinned like a moron, and said, "Okay."

Right before I left, Alice stopped me and said, "But you have to promise me one thing. You have to tell her how you feel. Deal?"

She looked at me sternly. "Fine," I finally sighed, opening the door. I could get there faster by foot, so that's what I would do. My positive energy flowed freely, and I was finally ready to confront Bella. I couldn't wait.

**the confrontation comes next chapter! ooooooo**

**thanks for reviewing and adding me to your favs or alerts. it makes my day to see wonderful reviews in the middle of computer's class when i'm supposed to be doing work! )**

**ps: i have a poll on my profile. check it out, and please vote!**

**Hakuna Matata, -RW**


	11. Vampirism

**A/N: ok guys, i am very, very sorry!! i grovel at your feet for forgiveness! my excuse this time is the impending doom that threatens to kill us all in due time, and can make even the best person decend into the deep, dark, depths of dispair... this evil, my friends, is called a TERM PAPER. (shriek!!)**

**and thank you to wingedspirit for the idea of what happens at the end... thanks!**

**so, now, onto our feature presentation!**

**Chapter 10**

Bella's POV

My mind was in overdrive. I had to find something to distract myself.

I lifted Wuthering Heights off my mismatched bookshelf and headed out the door, blanket in hand. Walking out toward the woods, I found a clearing a little while in and settled down. I spread out the blanket and prepared to read.

The trees surrounding my small, blanketed area added to the scenery of the book. Even so, my mind wandered. And it came to rest, as it seemed always to do these days, on Edward Cullen.

I just couldn't figure it out. What was so vital that he felt I needed to know? And why did Alice seem not to want me to know? I couldn't figure out why she would hide something that seemed to be so important from me. It was so unlike her; we were usually able to talk about everything openly with each other, even though I had only known her for a very short period of time. Why should this be any different?

But then I remembered. Alice hadn't always been completely honest with me. She hadn't wanted to tell me what had _really_ happened at her house that day. Maybe that was all Edward wanted: to tell me the truth. Maybe—

I heard the trees rustle next to me. However looking around, I didn't see anything unusual. But at that moment a thought flashed through my head. A pathetic thought, but a thought nonetheless. And it was about Edward.

Maybe he had come to see me. But I knew that was stupid. How would he know where I was? I was a little scared to admit that I didn't really care how he knew, even though behavior like that would qualify him as a borderline stalker. But that was just wishful thinking.

I nestled down with my book, depressed and a little bit sad, and waited to be sucked into another world. It didn't take long.

Alice's POV

I knew Edward wouldn't tell her. Sure, he would tell her all the 'important' stuff, like that fact that our family is vampires, that we drink blood, yaddi yaddi ya…. But he wouldn't tell her the _really_ important stuff, like the fact that he loved her.

I could tell that he really did love her, not just a little inkling of a crush. There was a pazaz in his figure, a spring in his step, that hadn't previously been there. I would hate to see that go away.

But still, he wasn't going to tell her. I knew Edward too well to assume otherwise. So as soon as he left, I left too, just to make sure he really did keep his promise. I had found a perfectly good patch of bushes to hide in, and hopefully Edward would be too distracted to notice my gushy thoughts. He was hilarious under pressure.

Bella was currently reading her book, but when I looked closer, I realized that her eyes were slightly glazed over and unmoving, while a smile remained plastered on her pink face. I chuckled to myself. If I wasn't mistaken, she was thinking about Edward.

Then I heard a rustle of leaves in a tree over where Bella was sitting. Edward. This was a good sign; he was about to make his move!

But five minutes came and past, and Edward still hadn't appeared. Had he gotten cold feet? Well, I wouldn't stand for that. I had to do _something_.

So I crept over to the tree he was in, careful not to make the slightest sound. I then grasped the tree with both hands, and shook it with all of my vampire speed and vampire strength.

Edward must have been sitting lightly on a low branch (probably gazing at Bella) because it was easier than it should have been to shake him off. He made an enormous, yet extremely satisfying thump when he hit the ground. I had to fight hard to contain my fit of giggles.

The thump had not escaped Bella's notice, and I saw her look quickly up from her book. Then her eyes became wide and her mouth dropped open, gazing at the flattened figure before her.

Edward was only on the ground for a split second before he regained his composure and stood up. He and Bella stared at each other, and after a couple of seconds a small smile started to spread across his face.

"Edward!" Bella gasped, flinging her book aside and scurrying to stand up. "Are you alright?" she asked, sounding concerned. It amazed me that both of them could be so focused on each other that they completely ignored the fact that Edward had just fallen from the sky; Bella was only worried about his safety. They were so cute!

"What?" he asked, the smile dropping off his face. Bella's eyes wandered from the tree he had fallen out of to the spot he had just fallen _onto_. Comprehension dawned on him as he looked at her wandering eyes. "Oh! Oh yeah, yeah I'm okay. I'm fine," he rambled. "Happens all the time…" he muttered, trailing off.

I snickered. Bella gave him a worried look.

Realizing what he had said, he tried to save himself. "Not that I always fall out of trees! I mean, that's stupid… not that _I'm_ stupid… and not that, you know, if you fell out of trees… that wouldn't make _you_ stupid… I mean…"

If Edward could have, he would have been blushing profusely. Bella, however, have started to giggle. When Edward saw this, his mouth twisted into an adorable crooked smile. After a while they elapsed into a comfortable silence, staring into each other's eyes. Finally, Bella said, "So…why are you here Edward?" It wasn't a sharp question, just an honest, innocent one. But it made Edward tense up all the same. He closed his eyes for a moment; I knew he was blocking out every unwanted person's thoughts.

_This is it_, I thought to myself. _He's finally going to tell her!_ Even though it was basically all my fault that she didn't know our secret yet, I couldn't help feeling that it was about time.

Edward sighed, and then he started talking.

"Bella, I've been meaning to tell you this for a while; you deserve to know. I just don't want you to be scared, though I know you have every right to be." He looked away, refusing to meet her gaze. "But please, don't blame Alice for this. She didn't want to frighten you, nor do I. It's just… hard to say." He faltered, words momentarily failing him.

Bella took a comforting step toward him, looking trustingly into his eyes. "Then why don't you start small?" she suggested innocently.

Edward nodded, and started pacing. "Bella, do you know how old I am?"

I nodded. This was a good place to start; he was going to be fine… I hoped.

She seemed slightly confused by the question. "I'd say about 17, right?" she asked.

"Yes…" Edward answered slyly, "and no. Let me ask you something. You're 17 also, right?" She nodded. "Well… how old were you last year?"

Bella was playing along. "Sixteen of course… why?"

A sad smile played across his lips. "Because… I was seventeen last year too. And the year before that…" He let that thought linger while Bella absorbed what he had said. He was expecting her to be scared. Instead, she looked puzzled. "How long have you been seventeen, Edward?" she asked slowly, comprehension dawning on her face before she even finished the question.

"Bella, you're smarter that most people give you credit for," Edward answered quietly, sadness still evident as he spoke. "I have been seventeen for almost one hundred years now… and I'm not planning on aging any time soon." He stopped, prolonging Bella's momentary confusion. "Also, we –my family and I—don't need to breathe. Some of us have 'special' powers, too. But the most shocking part is our diet. We… drink blood."

I held my unnecessary breath while Edward finished. Bella slowly sat back down, eyes wide, yet unseeing. A small gasp escaped her lips, followed by the words "But how…?" Then silence.

Edward looked at Bella, and I could see that he was broken. Realization dawned on his features, and sadness radiated off his form in giant waves that even I couldn't ignore. He gazed longingly t her for a minute, then turned abruptly to leave, muttering, "I'm sorry," under his breath.

Hearing that, Bella's head snapped up. "Wait!" she called softly, standing up and reaching out a hand.

Edward stopped in his tracks, and turned back to look at her, stony faced.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. " I didn't mean—it was just a shock, you know… but I'm read y now. I can take it, I promise."

He stared at her in wonderment (I did too, as a matter of fact). "But… but I'm… I'm a _monster_," he finally choked out.

At that, Bella laughed. It was just a little, tinkling laugh. But it lightened the mood immensely. Then, so both of our surprise, she said, "I know. But you're one of the nicest…. monsters… I've ever met. You've never tried to harm me in any way, and it doesn't seem like you ever intend to. That has to count for something, doesn't it?"

I stared at her in bewilderment. How did she know? And if she had known, why hadn't she said anything? Why had she pretended?

Edward seemed to be as dumbfounded as I felt. "You knew?"

"Well," Bella started, "I didn't know the specifics. Like how you drink… blood." She paused. "So I suppose you're…"

"Vampires, yes."

He let his words dangle in the air for a couple of moments, then continued in a somewhat darker tone. "But there is no reason for you to think of me as not dangerous."

Oh no, he was going to go into _this _again. I didn't see why he had to tell her that he had an extreme thirst for her blood, more so than any other human, if he didn't have to… plus, that would make it a little awkward when he told her how much he loved her.

"My family survives on the blood of animals, because we could not bare to harm humans… even though some occasionally deserve it…" When Bella looked shocked, he gave her a quick smile to let her know he was kidding… mostly. "We are usually very good at what we do, hunting when we need to, and not letting the temptation of human blood get the best of us. But sometimes it is more difficult than others. There are exceptions, as rare as they may be, to the normal blood lust we have. You, for example," he said, looking down at Bella.

"I… don't understand," she said. "Why am I different?"

"I'm not sure why some people smell more… appetizing… than others," he said unhappily. "I don't think it's anything that can be helped; it's just the way you are."

"Is the thirst bad?" she asked.

Edward groaned in anguish. "You have no idea. Say, for example, you put a man in a room with the finest wine in the world. But no…" He paused, musing over his analogy. "That's not strong enough. Let's say you put an excessive alcoholic into a room with wine. But not any wine. This is the best, handpicked alcoholic beverage on the planet. However, he was told not to touch any of it, or else his whole world would come tumbling down around him. Life as he knew it would cease to exist, and, in his eyes, there would be no reason to continue living."

Edward was completely captivated in his analogy, swept up and intoxicated by Bella's presence. He was staring intensely into her eyes, willing her to understand the meaning behind his words.

_Snap! _

As I moved my arm, a twig from one of the bushes I was residing in broke, alerting Edward to my presence. The crack was quiet enough that it didn't disturb Bella, but I knew Edward had heard it. Now knowing that I was here, it was now or never. He had to tell her once and for all how he felt about her, before the moment was lost. I knew he could do it; the question was whether he would.

Edward's POV

Bella.

She was all I knew, all I cared about, all I needed. Although she was partly the reason my sanity had been slowly decreasing, I knew that I had no life without her. I didn't know if she felt the same way I did, but I didn't care. Knowing that she understood what we were and didn't hate us for it was more than I could comprehend, but I didn't question it. Being with her, feeling her presence was enough for now.

_Snap!_

My concentration was tested for a split second, but that was as much as necessary. I checked mentally to see if anyone was there, and to my extreme surprise, I found someone. And the moment I did, there was only one thought in my head:_ she is dead!_

_Stupid twig!_ She thought. _Mind your own business! Can't you see you're getting in the way of Edward finally being romantic for once in his life, even if he doesn't know it? Jeeze._

"Alice," I muttered under my breath.

She looked up from a large group of bushes, and gave me a little wave at vampire speed, then continued to force her thoughts into my mind.

_Okay Edward, now that you know I'm here, you know that if you don't keep up your end of the bargain there is going to be you-can't-even-imagine-what waiting for you when we get home… so you'd better speed it up there, mister!_

I sighed, and again focused all my attention on Bella. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right; it was now or never. I had to do this.

But as soon as I took that unneeded breath to ready myself, another set of thoughts erupted into my brain.

_Edward, how come you never told me you were a diabetic; I would have gotten you a needle. _

Oh no. Carlisle.

_Yes, the school informed me this afternoon. Along with the fact that my daughter Alice needs anxiety pills for her well being, and the safety of the others around her… you could have let me know sooner, I would have picked some of her pills up along with your needle._

This couldn't be good.

_So come home as soon as you can… we obviously have some issues that need to be discussed._

I moaned loudly, mere feet away from Bella, as she looked confusedly at me.

"What's the matter?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"My family seems to have no sympathy for hypothetical medical situations…" I muttered under my breath so that Bella couldn't hear. Louder, I said, "My father wants me home. Now. I don't want to go, but…"

She gave me a wondrous comforting smile that almost warmed my cold body. "No, no it's alright. Go ahead," she encouraged me. "But I'm really glad you told me this. It means a lot to me," she said, looking down and smiling at the ground, the scarlet blush growing in her cheeks. "And I promise I won't tell anyone. You have my word."

"I know," I said, and I really meant it. I took one more look into her deep, chocolate eyes, and took off back to our house. I only looked back once; she was still stranding where I had left her, her arm outstretched to where I had been moments before. I smiled to myself, but then remembered the doom I was heading for.

Alice owed me big time.

**A/N: sorry to leave you hanging... please dont hunt me down with torches and/or pitchforks... he did tell her about the vampirism!! **

**and now i need your advice: what do you want to see happen next? other than the fact that Edward needs to tell Bella that he loves her and Bella needs to somehow get into a pit of cement, i actually have no real idea where this is going quite yet... i am very open to suggestions. thanks!**

**lastly: please vote in my poll... go yahoo!! Hakuna Matata, **

**-RW**


	12. I Love You

**A/N: sorry this is such a short chapter. but thanks so much to everyone who reviews... you guys are awesome!!**

**Chapter 11**

Carlisle POV

I heard Edward and Alice from the hallway before the even came through the front door.

"I can't believe you think that this is _my_ fault!" Edward seethed, sounding thoroughly annoyed.

"Well that's pretty rich, seeing that it _is_ your fault!" Alice argued back just as strongly.

"My fault?! Why is it my fault? You're the one that told the nurse to check the amount of sugar in my nonexistent blood!" Edward cried, throwing his hands up as he pushed open the door. I cleared my throat loudly, and they both turned toward me, falling silent for a moment.

"Well," I said, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, "you'd better get started, because by the sound of it, you two have a lot of explaining to do."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Half an hour and one enormous migraine later, I had finally gotten what I hoped was the real story out of them.

I sighed in exasperation as a rotten orange flew across the room at the speed of light and landed in Edward's hand, before it was thrust roughly back in the direction of Alice's face. "Edward, Alice, STOP." I said sternly. Their heads turned to face me, and I hoped that I had their full attention… hoped, but knew otherwise.

"Carlisle, before you say anything," Alice said, in such a mature voice that it surprised me, "I just want you to know… that it was all Edward's fault!" she screeched loudly, her right index finger pointing accusingly at Edward.

I sighed as a whole new argument broke out between the two. This time I had to be more forceful with my attempts to get their attention. "Alice Cullen, if you do not stop yelling at your brother, I will cancel all your credit cards until the end of next month. Edward, if you don't quiet down and let me talk, then your driving privileges will be taken away for a solid month. Is that clear?"

Immediate silence fell over the room.

"Good," I muttered, mentally preparing myself for my next move. "Now, you both know that you are in trouble, regardless of whose fault it is," I said, keeping my voice even. "Alice, it doesn't matter why you told the nurse that Edward has diabetes; do you realize the effect that your actions could have had on our family? And Edward, just because your sister told someone something about you, that doesn't give you the right to go and do the exact same thing! If anyone had told me that either of you would have the nerve to ever do this kind of thing, I wouldn't have believed them. It was a good thing that I got to you before something really drastic happened. And on that note…" I continued, turning my gaze to rest on Edward, "Edward, what was so imperative that it kept you from listening to my thoughts? I was trying to reach you! What was so important that you couldn't let me in for?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Alice interrupted me before I could continue. "But Carlisle, Edward was trying to tell—"

"Young lady, I think that the discovery of our family's vampirism is more important than what Edward was or was not doing this afternoon," I said sternly. For some reason, both of them seemed to find this slightly amusing, which made me even more agitated.

"You two are more than one hundred years old!" I said, my temper threatening to boil over. "You should know better than to endanger our secret in such a way, even if you didn't mean to. Little slip-ups like that can cost us everything. Think, for a minute, about what could have happened. Someone might have found out and gotten scared. Do you think for one second that the Volturi would have left that untouched? They would have found out somehow, and I don't think that this little mishap would have been overlooked."

At the mention of the Volturi, both Alice and Edward's attention became more alert. I hoped that I was finally getting through to them. But as Alice looked at me, her expression went blank, and she seemed to be staring off into the distance. Her petite body went limp in the chair. She was having a vision.

I looked to Edward to see if he could tell me anything about her vision. He was focused on Alice, seeing what she saw, knowing what she knew. "Edward?" I asked him. "What is it? What is she seeing?"

He didn't answer immediately, so I waited patiently for a couple more seconds. But as Alice came back to reality, Edward's jaw clenched, and a cloudy and extremely worried expression wafted over his features. He turned to Alice, who let out a gasp and exclaimed, "Oh, Edward…!"

Edward stared blankly into space, seeing nothing, being aware of nothing except his own thoughts. "What happened Edward?" I asked once again.

Edward POV

This was not happening. It wasn't possible. I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't… yet I had to.

"I'm sorry Carlisle," I said, my voice hoarser than I realized, "but I have to go. I promise you can do anything you want to punish me when I get back. But right now…" I struggled to find the right words. My conscious mind couldn't seem to think fast enough, even as a vampire.

"I'll explain, Edward. Go!" Alice stepped in. I nodded thankfully in her direction, and took off immediately toward Bella's house.

As I ran, I replayed Alice's vision in my head.

Bella was there. Sweet, innocent Bella, who had never done any damage to anyone in her life. But she was writhing in pain, burning with the internal fire that threatened to consume her very existence. However, no matter how much it hurt, I knew that it wouldn't kill her; it would rid her of something infinitely more precious: her humanity.

That fiery pain she was struggling so fiercely with could only be brought upon her if a vampire bit her. The burning sensation was venom from a vampire, flowing through her veins, turning her into something like us… something like me.

I couldn't stand to think of fragile Bella enduring all of that relentless suffering, especially alone and helpless, without a soul near her. I had to stop it at all costs. And since I didn't know when or where it was going to occur, I was determined to check immediately so that I could prevent any damage that might be happening at this very moment. Horrible things could be happening to my Bella—

Wait. What was I thinking? I couldn't allow myself to imagine her that way. For one thing, she was her own person; she didn't have to want me in the mind-bottling way that I wanted her. After I had told her about being a vampire, she would have to be something short of crazy — or brilliant — not to be terrified of what we were.

Secondly, it was not only my unbeating heart that yearned for her; I also lusted for her blood in an extremely unhealthy way. Though I had been able to control that unfortunate part of myself around her so far, I wasn't going to test it more than was strictly mandatory.

Before I knew it, I was in front of her house, hiding in the shadows. I gave it a quick once-over, and decided that a window would be my best bet, and I went for it; I couldn't afford to waste any more time.

I searched for a room that was filled with thoughts I couldn't read; that one would be Bella's. The room wasn't difficult to find. Luckily, her window was unlocked, so it was easy enough to get inside. I was standing beside her bed before a human would have had time to blink.

Like an angel, she lay curled up in a ball facing the wall, peaceful and unharmed. Her perfect, innocent form left me breathless.

Relief flooded over me as the realization that Bella was not being turned into a vampire sank in. She was not going to be condemned to the eternal horror that was my life just yet; she was safe, if only for the moment. I was amazingly appreciative, but all I could do was bask in Bella's presence. Being there with her, the one person who knew what we were and accepted us, seemed to make living this horrendous life just a little bit more worthwhile.

As I watched her, I promised myself that I would make sure she was never in harm's way. I would watch over her and protect her for as long as my eternal life permitted, so that nothing would ever happen to her. She would be safe from anything as long as I was around.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

I wasn't sure how long I had been standing in her room, but it was pitch dark before I realized that I probably should have returned home long ago, when I first knew that Bella was safe. Carlisle must have been wondering where I was, though I hadn't been concentrating on anyone's thoughts since I had gotten there. I regretfully turned to the window again, about to leave.

Then I heard my name.

It was so soft that had I not possessed vampire hearing, I would have missed it. But I knew what I heard, and I carefully turned around, just in time to hear it again.

"Edward," I distinctly heard Bella mutter.

At first I was too shocked to move. Was this real? How could I be sure that what I had just heard wasn't just wishful thinking? But as I gained more confidence, I whispered back, "Bella? Bella, honey, I'm here. And I will never let anything happen to you. I promise." I was now by her side.

"Edward," she muttered again contentedly as a glorious smile spread across her face.

A crooked smile appeared on my face also. "I love you Bella," I whispered to her with a newfound confidence.

The smile on her sleeping features grew larger still. And while it did, my heart almost burst open with happiness. Maybe I could stay here with her, just watching her, enjoying her company, for a little while longer….

**A/N: well... in all fairness, he did tell her! just not when she was conscious... so she still doesn't know... gotta wonder what Alice will think of that. hehe :) **

**the next chapter is hopefully coming soon... depending on how much work my teachers decide to give us on our week back... ewwwww**

**review please!!**

**-RW **


	13. The Return of Vladgor

**A/N: I HAVE RETURNED FROM THE BEYOND!! after many ups, downs, sideways movements, and lots and lots of cookies (yum) the next chapter is finally here!! **

**now, lots of thank-you's!! here we go: thanks to tizzlexo11, hbpatinadorax, and cem1818 for bugging me at school to STOP listening to the teacher, and START writing my fanfic (yes, oh ye of little faith, this IS a good thing). also, thanks to wingedspirit for keeping my spirit up and talking to me... you rule! **

**lastly, thanks to TOPAZEYES44 for absolutly everything. you updated (yay!), you helped me through thick and thin and all that gooey stuff in between, and are slowly teaching me how to be threatening. and although i am being very sappy here, i mean it. GROUP: AWWWWW!! ps: the part about the practical joke on emmett in her story is finally up! GO READ, ALL YE FAITHFUL ONES!!**

**now, just in case you are braindead and/or rabid bunnies and are having touble clicking on the 'back' button to see what happened last, here's a recap:**

_"Edward," she muttered again contentedly as a glorious smile spread across her face._

_A crooked smile appeared on my face also. "I love you Bella," I whispered to her with a newfound confidence._

_The smile on her sleeping features grew larger still. And while it did, my heart almost burst open with happiness. Maybe I could stay here with her, just watching her, enjoying her company, for a little while longer…_

**ONE LAST FINAL NOTE I SWEAR: this chapter actually has something to do with a Vladgor! hehe... enjoy :)**

**Chapter 12**

Bella's POV

I woke to the soft pitter-patter of rain outside my window the next morning. Snuggling deeper down into my covers, I felt a wet spot with my toe at the end of the bed. It had been years since I had lost the command of my bladder while sleeping, and the spot was too far away to be from any amount of lack of self-control. Grudgingly, I sat up and realized that the puddle was forming from the drops of rain leaking through my open window. I closed it, making a mental note to remember to close it tonight.

Groaning, I rolled out of bed and started ready for the day. Charlie was already at work, so I had the house to myself. That was good; I needed time to think.

Pouring a bowl of cereal, I recalled the amazing dream I had last night. Of course, I could have easily interpreted it as a nightmare, but it wasn't. Because Edward was there. I sorted through the important details of my dream that were surprisingly still intact after I woke up: he had told me that his entire family was vampires. That the reason Alice had been lying to me was because she was afraid that I wouldn't understand; afraid that I would hate what they were. But I didn't.

I remembered that Edward had been so intense… so trusting. I remembered his quick, cold touch, his velvety voice, that irreplaceable gleam in his brilliant topaz eyes. If I hadn't known any better, I would have considered the possibility that my memories were actually reality, but I was pretty sure that my imagination couldn't have concocted anything nearly that breathtaking.

As I started the water for my shower, I played over the events in my dream. It hit me when I first felt the freezing water on my body: it hadn't been a dream. Everything I remembered had really happened, just the way I remembered. Additional memories that had been hiding while I thought last night had been a dream finally started to surface. I quickly became aware of other, more crucial details of our conversation.

Edward thirsted for my blood. Edward was a _vampire_. And Edward had trusted me with his family's best-kept secret.

A chill ran down my spine as the measure of his action's importance dawned on me. If anyone else knew, if anyone else found out…

But they wouldn't. Not from me, at least. I smiled to myself at the thought of keeping his secret. I had always known that there was something special about Edward, and I had been right. It felt as though there was an unspoken connection between us; both understanding each other, even if no one else did.

I rolled my eyes. I had to be kidding myself if I thought that Edward could feel the same way about me as I did about him; it was impossibility. Our relationship was strictly business. He knew that telling me was the right thing to do, so he did. He was a gentleman, and I couldn't ignore that.

The unreasonable feeling I had for Edward must have been what triggered the real dream I had last night. Because Edward would never tell me what I dreamed he had said…. That he loved me… that part had to have been a dream; my mind, so pathetically aware of Edward these days, would have no problem dreaming something like that up.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Finally I was ready to go. I was just about to grab my keys when I heard a knock at the door. Groaning, I went to answer it; I really didn't have any time to waste. I seized the door handle about to tell them so, until I looked up to see who it was.

"I'm sorry, but I was actually just about to…" My heart skipped a beat. Edward Cullen was standing in the doorframe. Looking at _me_. On _my_ doorstep. What had this world come to if he suddenly cared about any part of my besides not telling anyone that he was part of a family of vampires?

"Hello Bella," he said in a silky voice, while that crooked smile played across his lips.

My vocal chords didn't seem to be working. Why did my voice have to pick this moment to magically disappear?

I could have sworn I heard a low chuckle before he continued. "I was wondering it you might like a ride to school this morning?"

I thought about it for almost a split second before answering. "Yes," I replied hastily. Another chuckle.

_What's the matter with you Bella?_ I asked myself. _Just ignore the fact that an extremely handsome vampire is standing at your door. Ignore the fact that he just offered you a ride with him on his own accord. Don't think about that. Just say something! Don't give him any reason to think that you're mentally inept!_

"I mean," I countered with no hint of brainpower whatsoever, "why?"

"I just thought you might want a ride," he said, cool as anything. But then, for the first time, I caught a hint of worry in his features. "Unless… you don't want one?"

No! What was happening?! Of course I wanted a ride, especially with Edward Cullen! "Oh! Oh no, I'll ride with you!" I reassured him. His face brightened considerably. "Thanks so much," I mumbled, trailing off as I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. He gave me a radiant smile, and said, "Follow me."

I put my hood up as he led me out the front door. His shiny silver Volvo sat next to my beat-up old truck. I noticed how strangely the vehicles seemed to mirror us; one was sleek, awe-inspiring, and slightly intimidating. The other was plain, unimpressive, and easy to overlook. Although, if I was being fair, that comparison wasn't completely accurate -- my old truck was more than it looked.

When I got to the passenger's side, Edward opened the door for me, just like the gentleman he was. Then, before I had even buckled my seatbelt, he was next to me, behind the steering wheel.

I must have jumped a bit at his speed because the brilliant smile faded from his face. Darn my over-expressive facial features.

"I'm sorry. It's too easy to be myself around you."

"No, it's ok," I said, my voice coming out a little more breathless than I would have liked. "I don't mind."

He sighed. "I know. But you should mind. I'm more dangerous than you realize," he said ominously. We lapsed into an awkward silence as he continued to speed down the road.

I was lost in my own thoughts for a while before Edward abruptly interrupted the trip I had been taking to my own little Edward-filled world.

"Bella," he asked sounding somewhat frustrated, "tell me what you're thinking. Please." He hurriedly added afterward.

His request confused me. "But I thought you could hear my thoughts?"

"No," he growled as we pulled into the school parking lot. "It doesn't make any sense. There's never been an exception before. I'm used to having free rein in everyone's thoughts, but yours… yours are different somehow."

He was talking more to himself now than me as he opened the passenger's door and helped me out. "It's almost as if I can tune into thoughts like radio stations. The only thing is, the thoughts that I can understand are on FM, and yours are somehow on AM. That's the only way I can think of to describe it."

I suddenly became aware that we were standing on the school sidewalk facing each other, with no recollection of getting there. Somehow, when I was with Edward, I lost track of what I was doing and became aware only of him. I then realized that he was looking at me intently, waiting for a response. "Oh," I replied intelligently. He laughed, but the sadness remained behind his beautifully composed features.

"This keeps getting harder and harder," he mumbled in an undertone to himself. "Have a good day Bella," he said before turning around and walking briskly away down the sidewalk.

I let out the breath I had unconsciously been holding. How had I gotten so lucky?

? POV

I lifted my hand, and he placed one long, alabaster finger onto my palm. Immediately, I felt all of the past days' memories and knowledge unlock and flow outward, as though they were being read like an open book. I stood completely still, saying nothing, making no implications. If he wanted to know, all he had to do was ask.

"So," he started, retracting his finger to its original position, "you delivered the message?"

"Yes."

"Good. In that case, we should have a response from the Cullens and another one of our kind in a little more than 24 hours."

I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice as I asked, "And… what if they refuse to turn her?"

A grim, humorless smile spread across his face. "Well then, I guess you will have another job on your hands. I do believe you have been lying low for quite a while, and we appreciate that, even though we know that doing so isn't really your style."

I nodded. He knew me well.

"But if—as I suspect may very well happen—they do not reply or they refuse to change her, you may have free rein. Do what you must to turn her, use whatever means necessary."

I smiled; the prospect of being on the job again was invigorating. I hoped that they wouldn't respond. Or better, that they would refuse. It would be more… interesting that way.

"Thank you Aro," I said, bowing my way out of the room. "I will do my job well."

"I know, Vladgor," he said. Then, right before I shut the door, I heard him mutter, "and you have a bit more fun with it than I think is healthy."

A maniacal grin crossed my lips. He was completely right.

Bella's POV

Mr. Banner was talking again. It was another concept I had already learned, more about the steps of mitosis. Today was a lecture day. But instead of taking notes like I usually would have, I was gazing out the window, hypnotized by the thunder and lightning blaring outside. Alice giggled from the seat next to me.

"What?" I asked, trying not to draw too much attention to our conversation.

"It's like you've never seem a thunderstorm before."

"I have! Just never this big or continuous." I made a face. "I usually don't like the rain."

Alice gave me an enormous smile, her eyes wide and gleaming with happiness. "Well I _love_ thunderstorms."

I should have known better than to ask, but I was too curious. "Why?"

"Because… then we can play baseball."

"Um… come again?"

But then, Mr. Banner called on Alice, asking for the answer to an unknown question. "Prophase," Alice answered without skipping a beat. She leaned over to me and whispered, "Ask Edward about it later."

I smirked. She could count on that.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Edward was waiting for me after gym again. We quietly fell into step with each other as I followed him to his Volvo.

"So," I started as he opened the door for me, "you enjoy baseball?"

He gave me a knowing smile, and I fell into one of his trances. Stupid hypnotic vampire.

"Ah, I thought Alice might have mentioned that…" He looked away, freeing me for the time being. "Yes, when the weather is right, we do enjoy a nice, fair game of baseball."

I raised an eyebrow. "And is there any particular reason why baseball and thunderstorms seem to go hand in hand for you family?"

Edward smiled to himself, seemingly recalling a humorous memory. "Well, our games tend to get a little… loud," he said, glancing at me. "Our hits and catches always seem to blend in with all the thunder better if we don't want the locals to assume that trees are snapping and falling down… not that it would make much difference here in Forks if a couple old trees came down."

I laughed. We were already in my driveway, thanks to his ludicrous driving.

"I'd like to see that," I said to no one in particular, looking out into the woods beyond the house. I turned involuntarily to look at Edward, only to see that he was staring back at me. His smoldering gaze immediately locked onto my eyes, making it impossible for me to look away. He seemed to reach into the very depths of my soul, his eyes breaking through even my strongest defenses. I was momentarily spellbound, unprepared for this silent attack. His velvety voice penetrating my conscious mind, enhancing the trance he was putting me through. "I'll have to show you sometime."

Unconsciously, I nodded my head. He smiled, and turned his head, slowly releasing me back into reality.

I wasn't sure how long we sat there, just enjoying each other's company. But the time passed, and eventually, Edward sighed. "I think it's time for you to go, Bella," he said without looking at me.

I nodded, and got out of the car. "I'll see you tomorrow…?" It was more of a question than a statement, so I was relieved when Edward answered.

"Of course," his silky voice cooed. "Goodbye Bella. Have a good night."

"You too," I responded as I opened the front door to my house and let myself inside. As soon as I shut the door, I ran to the window just in time to see his Volvo speeding away down the road.

Edward's POV

I was in a remarkable bliss. Troubled as I should be, fearful as the world should be in my presence, just for the moment, everything seemed all right. And it was all thanks to Bella.

Although her blood was still the most succulent thing I had ever smelled, my mind had taken control. Alice was right; I would sooner kill myself or forfeit a game to Emmett on purpose (probably the former) than jeopardize Bella's life in any way. Loosing her was a concept I couldn't bare to wrap my mind around.

Getting out of my car, I found myself actually _whistling_. I immediately stopped myself before setting foot inside. There was no need to give Emmett one more thing to tease me about.

However, as soon as I stepped over the threshold, an eerie silence hit me. "Hello?" I called into the house, at the same time searching for someone's thoughts. I found all of them together, crowded around a coffee table in the dining room.

I walked in, preparing myself for what they could be about to say. All their heads turned to look at me at the same time. Reading their expressions, I knew this couldn't be good.

"Carlisle? What's the matter?" I asked, glancing at each one of their faces in turn.

No one spoke as Carlisle handed me a piece of paper that he had been holding. It was slightly yellowed with crease lines down the middle of the page in both directions. I could feel Jasper silently sending waves of calm my way, and I looked down at the paper to see what was so terrible.

As soon as I read it, I knew. "No…" I whispered, closing my eyes.

_Edward Cullen—_

_You have 24 hours in which to turn the human into a vampire. If you fail to do so, we will take matters into our own hands. She knows, and that's not allowed._

_We will be watching._

**A/N: yay! group hug, its finally here! or you could say "grab your knives and sharpen your pitchforks, she ended it there!!" but fear not, i will update again soon. hopefully. (insert evil Vladgor laugh here). please dont shoot me down for not updating tho, because my family is going through a little bumpy road time here, so we're just all trying to stick together and get through it. but never fear, i will ALWAYS put my fanfic before school. maybe not my family, but definitely school.**

**remember, i love your comments!! REVIEW!! Hakuna Matata,**

**-RW **

_find a cure._


	14. Nothing

**A/N: okay. i am extremely sorry about this 'lack of updating' business. on top of having all this family stuff going on, i wrote this chapter EARLY (yes, hard to believe, i know) but i absolutely hated it with a passion that burns in the fiery pit of my soul. well, maybe not that much. but it was still really bad, and i felt guilty for putting out a bad chapter. so while i was typing it, i changed a TON of it, which is the reason it took me so long.**

**NEXT: i am sorry this is so short!! this was initially only going to be part of the chapter, but, like i said, it was horrible, so i decided to put this and the other part out separately so you could at least have _something_ to read. hopefully the next part will be out soon (i already know exactly what's going to happen... i just need to write/type it). **

**enjoy this pathetically short excuse for a chapter!!**

**Chapter 13**

Bella's POV

As soon as I heard Charlie's cruiser leave the driveway, I peeked out the window, trying to suppress the little inkling of hope that was inside me, so as not to be disappointed when I was let down. But, just like the day before, a shiny Volvo was sitting on the pavement next to the house. I watched him open the door and step out, coming closer with every step. When he was near enough, I opened the door, my breath catching in my throat at the sight of him.

"Hi," I murmured, too swept up by him to find something intelligent to say.

"Hello," he replied, ushering me smoothly out the door and into his car for the second morning in a row.

But somehow Edward was different today. His impassive features seemed to hold more concern, more cautiousness than before. Wary as he had been yesterday, he seemed more so now, sending off waves of security that baffled me. "What's the matter, Edward?" I finally asked.

He grudgingly gave me a short, false chuckle. "I thought I was the one who could tell what people were thinking."

"Well, you don't know what I'm thinking." Thank God.

"That's true," he admitted.

He sighed, noticing that I was still looking at him intently, waiting for an answer. "It's nothing," he assured me. "Don't worry. I can take care of it on my own."

His eyes smoldered into mine, forcing me against my will, yet again, to believe him. We sat in silence while he drove, and said our goodbyes as we parted at school.

Still, Edward seemed distracted and distant at lunch, glancing at the clock every five minutes. Alice, on the other hand, didn't seem worried. Instead, she wore a look between annoyance and frustration. Finally, she cleared her throat and Edward turned his head in her direction. After a moment of silent, telepathic-vampire talking, he shook his head from side to side ever so slightly. She heaved a big sigh, furrowing her eyebrows. Edward shook his head again, and then muttered something so fast that I couldn't catch it. Alice was silent for a couple more minutes, staring pointedly at Edward, who did nothing but shake his head back and forth from time to time. At last Alice groaned, got up, threw away her untouched food, and glided out of the cafeteria. I turned to Edward.

"What was all that about?" I asked innocently.

"Nothing," he said, avoiding my gaze.

I threw him a look. "Well, there's been a lot of 'nothing' going around then." I paused. "Could this 'nothing' possibly be the same 'nothing' you referred to this morning?

His body went rigid. I guess I wasn't supposed to remember that. "Bella, you don't need to be concerned about this," he said with a firm finality that was also reflected in his features.

The bell signaling the end of lunch rang. Darn it. "I'll see you later Bella," he said, walking me to my next class. I sighed. What didn't he want me to know?

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Edward's POV

Bella, Alice, and myself were walking to my car after school. Alice was still pestering me. _Edward, the note is not just going to go away. Besides, its about her, she has the right to know, even though you're going to keep on being the stubborn person you are and not give her a choice! _

I responded at vampire speed. "We already discussed this at lunch, Alice. I can—and will—take on anyone who tries to harm her, so what's the point? There's no need to worry Bella for no reason."

She rolled her eyes. _Yeah, because keeping an enormous secret from her was such a good idea past time! Come on Edward. I was wrong, I admit it. But this time, you're wrong._

"This is _not_ the same thing," I countered angrily.

"What's not the same thing?" Bella asked suddenly.

"Nothing," I said quickly. Alice glared at me, but I ignored it.

"There sure is a lot of 'nothing' going around today," Bella grumbled to herself.

"Hey Bella! Wanna come over to our house?" Alice asked suddenly. "You could meet our family—well, more than you did last time—"

"Alice, are you sure that's a good idea?" I jumped in. "Especially if you consider what _did_ happen last time."

"That has nothing to do with this," Alice said with a smirk, throwing my own words back at me. "Unless… there's something you don't want Bella to see…?" she trailed off suggestively.

"Of course not," I covered, trying not to look guilty of hiding anything.

"That's great! Then let's go!!" Alice squealed, running to my Volvo.

I made Alice sit in the back on the way home; she was not going to deprive me of the being able to sit next to Bella.

The two of them talked and laughed all the way to our house. Although I was the butt of many of Alice's jokes, I didn't really mind; as long as Bella was happy, I was too. As we pulled into our long driveway, I could see (and hear) that Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie were already home.

Suddenly, Bella was tugging on my arm urgently. "Edward," she said, "something's wrong with Alice. She just stopped moving… should we call for help? Is she going to be—"

"She's fine, Bella" I said reassuringly, pleasantly surprised by her touch. It was everything I could do not to pull her into a hug right then and there. "She's just having a vision."

Bella let go of my arm, looking confused. "A… a what?"

"A vision," I explained. "You know how I can hear the thoughts of other people? Well, this is Alice's 'special talent.' She can have visions."

After a couple of seconds consisting of Bella's awed silence, Alice came to. She immediately burst out laughing, almost reaching hysterics. I let out a deep sigh; hopefully this confirmed that Alice hadn't seen anything terrible happening to Bella that had to do with the note.

"Hehehe… oooh, Edward… heh heh…"

She sounded like a broken music box on helium. "Alice…" I said, regretting what I had thought earlier. Just because something horrible wasn't going to happen to Bella didn't mean that something horrible wasn't waiting for me at home. "What did you see?"

But, unable to string two comprehensive words together, she resolved to shake her head back and forth while continuing to laugh. Searching her mind, I found only one word: Eduardo.

Obviously this couldn't be good.

Upon finally reaching our house, I heard Bella gasp. Color flooded into her face as I turned to look at her. "Your house is so… big," she stated.

I laughed, relishing the blush that had tinted her cheeks. "Well, that tends to happen when you live forever. Money just kind of… accumulates."

She nodded her head understanding, still staring at me. I met and locked onto her gaze, enjoying the feeling of closeness that had escaped into me. I wanted to be with her, _stay_ with her always, and never be separated from this amazing creature next to me. To be forever with this remarkable girl would be much more than I deserved, but it was what I wanted nonetheless.

Only when Alice slammed the car door shut, making both of us jump did I realize we had been unconsciously leaning toward each other. Bella's blush deepened, and she looked down. I tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and said "Are you ready to meet a family of vampires?"

A brilliant smile crossed her face. "Of course!" she said matter-of-factually, as though I was asking her to confirm that two and two did indeed make four.

She got out of the car, and I followed quickly. We stood standing outside my house as Bella gazed up at it in wonderment. Then she turned to me, and extended her hand about a fraction of an inch, as if to take my hand. She carefully searched my eyes for permission to do so.

At first I stayed guarded; this was not a good idea. I shouldn't have even been feeling this way toward her in the first place. It was absurd to think that this angel would ever experience the same need for me as I did for her—it was impossible.

But finally my heart won out over my mind in this internal battle of morals. Swiftly, I reached out and took her hand, smiling at her all the while. Her small hand was almost completely covered by mine, and for the second time in less than an hour, I had to hold back my emotions with the strongest force to keep from pulling her into a tight embrace.

She shivered momentarily at my cold touch, but, very hastily, as if she knew better but was doing so anyway, she gave my hand a small squeeze of comfort, making my heart soar. Then, holding on tight, she dragged me up to my doorstep to meet the initial impending doom that was before us: my family.

**A/N: okay i know its short, but I'm very sorry!! (groveling at your feet for forgiveness) but please find it somewhere in your hearts to forgive me... and maybe review while you're at it...? (hint hint!)**

**Hakuna Matata, until next time (which will hopefully be a lot shorter than this one)**

**-RW :)**

**EDIT: than you to KJ for pointing out something that could easily have been missinterrprited... when Alice has the vision, Edward's powers are just temporarily disabled... thats why he cant hear her thoughts. naww, just kiddin' with you guys. Alice was blocking out her thoughts so that he _couldn't_ see them. thanks again!!**


	15. Por último, el beso

**A/N: AHHHH!! it has been over a month, and i HAVEN'T UPDATED!! i feel absolutely horrible about this, and i beg your forgiveness. i have been very busy, and haven't had much time to hang out or have fun lately... aka write my fanfic. so today i sat down at the computer with my notebook and said to myself, "i am going to finish typing and post this chapter TODAY, no excuses." and i did!! yay!! those of you who are a bit disturbed by the fact that i talk to myself, i am very sorry. it happens often. (just kidding)**

**i feel for those of you who don't remember where the story left off and don't feel like clicking the little 'back' button on the top of the chapter navigation, so here is a recap:**

_Swiftly, I reached out and took her hand, smiling at her all the while. Her small hand was almost completely covered by mine, and for the second time in less than an hour, I had to hold back my emotions with the strongest force to keep from pulling her into a tight embrace._

_She shivered momentarily at my cold touch, but, very hastily, as if she knew better but was doing so anyway, she gave my hand a small squeeze of comfort, making my heart soar. Then, holding on tight, she dragged me up to my doorstep to meet the initial impending doom that was before us: my family._

**one last thing: you _could_ ruin the chapter for yourself my translating the chapter title, but i would suggest that you don't.**

**now, please enjoy what i hope is an entertaining chapter :)**

**Chapter 14**

Edward POV

We walked into the house, and were met by very elaborate Mexican decorations, including loud red and yellow streamers, giant jars of salsa, and even come bags of sand and a cactus.

And Emmett, donning an enormous beaded sombrero.

Once he saw us, a huge smile smothered his face, and he scooped Bella up in a big bear hug. "Hola, Bella!" he said, unnecessarily loud. Bella giggled; for some reason I couldn't' comprehend, she found this _funny_. Then, Emmett turned to me.

"Buenos Días, Eduardo!" he said, annunciating every syllable, as though talking to someone of limited intelligence. This time, Bella was overcome with laughter, which Emmett horridly encouraged. I tried to change the subject.

"Emmett, what are all these decorations for?"

The corners of his mouth turned up in a mischievous smile. "Well, you always talk about Bella—" I glanced at her, hoping she didn't take that the way it really was "—and once I heard you mention something about her being from down south, so I wanted to make her feel more at home!"

I gave Bella an apologetic look. "Emmett… Bella moved here from Phoenix. _Arizona_. Not Mexico."

The smile on his face faded a little bit. "Oh. Well… sorry about that. It's just…"

"It's okay, Emmett," Bella said, walking over to him. "That was really nice of you to do all this for me anyway! I appreciate it, really." She gave him a smile. "No one's ever done that for me before."

The grin slowly returned to Emmett's face. "Well I'm glad I could be the first person to throw you a… erm… Mexican party!"

As Bella and Emmett laughed, I found myself again in awe of Bella's ability to make people feel good about them self. Even though she usually couldn't see the beauty in herself, she could always bring it out of others.

"Come on guys, everyone else is waiting!" Emmett said excitedly, grabbing hold of Bella's arm and pulling her away as she laughed openly. Before they had completely left the room, Bella looked back and gave me a smile that just about wrenched out my cold, unbeating heart. She couldn't possibly know how much I loved her much less return my affection. I had never believed fairy tales to hold any truth in reality, but, as stories went, I had fallen 'head over heels' for Bella—and I was enjoying every wonderfully bliss moment of it.

I was about to follow them into the front room where the rest of my family had no doubt assembled when I was a little piece of paper on the corner table. The note.

I hastily picked it up and shoved it into the pocket of my jeans. The last thing I needed was for Bella to find out about some mysterious psychopath that wanted me to change her into a vampire on her third visit here. There was no need for something horrible to happen every time she came to our house.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

I groaned.

For the past half an hour, my family had been telling Bella some of my most humiliating stories, some of which I specifically remembered telling Emmett and Jasper to keep under wraps forever, and with good reason.

So, to keep myself sane, _I_ had spent the past half hour thinking about what I could show Bella when this torture was over. I had chosen the baseball field: she had already told me that she wanted to see it, so, I figured, what better time than now?

I had also been formulating the perfect plan to put a stop to my family's seemingly endless stream of embarrassing stories. Of course, that plan went completely out the window when I heard what Emmett said next.

"…And you should have seen Edward's _sequined bell-bottoms_ phase—"

I shot up out of my seat. "OKAY. I think that's enough family stories for now."

"Oh, but Edward," Alice said, almost in hysterics, "we were just getting to the best part!" I silenced her with a fierce look, but a small squeak of laughter still escaped her.

"Bella," I said, turning to her, "would you like to see our family's baseball field?" I asked, ignoring the outrages thoughts from my siblings for ruining their fun.

Bella's eyes grew wide as she looked at me. "Sure," she agreed excitedly, getting up and taking my outstretched hand. She flinched ever so slightly at the sudden coldness of my skin, so I released some of the firmness of my grasp, giving her the choice to let go of my hand if she pleased. However, that just made her grip it tighter, letting me know that under no uncertain circumstances was I to let go.

Ignoring the comments of my family out loud and in my head, I led Bella out back, just beyond a belt of trees surrounding our yard. When I stopped, Bella looked at me, slightly confused. I laughed.

It's actually a little ways off. But, if you trust me…" I trailed off, letting the thought linger in the air. Bella gave me a funny look.

"Of course I trust you," she stated quietly.

"Then climb on my back."

Confusion covered her face, but she clambered onto my back nonetheless. I looked back to see her face mere inches from mine as I held her, piggyback style. "You may want to close your eyes," I said, and she hurriedly nodded her head. I flashed her a smile.

"Hold on tight."

With that, I took off into the woods at full speed. I felt Bella's grip tighten around my neck as I weaved through the thick tangled web of trees. At first, I would hear her gasp every time I dodged one, but eventually that stopped, signaling to me that she had taken my advice and closed her eyes.

Running felt good. I was free; free of all the restrictions and rules of being a vampire. Free of the worries that had haunted me since the day I had become what I was. Free, if only for the moment, to let all the strains of everyday life slip away as I left them in the dust.

And finally, I was free to be along with this wondrous creature that was now perched on my back. Here and now, it almost seemed possible that we could one day be together, as regular people could. It was an amazing daydream, yes; but I had to wake up to reality.

We neared the clearing that the field was situated in, and I came to a stop. I expected Bella to get off immediately, but he was still clutching on as firmly as when I had been running. I laughed. "Bella, you can open your eyes now."

As soon as she did, she realized that she was still clutching my body with a death grip, and instantly let go. She swayed a bit. "Are you all right?" I asked.

She nodded her head yes. "Just a little dizzy, I think." She sat down against a tree, closing her eyes once again. "How fast were we going?"

My smile widened ridiculously at her use of the word 'we'. "Well, faster than I drive. Which is saying something."

She laughed, resting her head against the tree for a minute before slowly rising to her feet.

After that, I showed Bella all around the baseball field. Somewhere between home plate and second base, I realized that I was holding her hand again. I made no move to let go this time, savoring every second and wanting it to last for as long as possible.

I told her about everything: who played which positions and why, and subtly reenacting plays in a way that usually showed me in the limelight.

"Why are you so good at everything?" Bella asked after one particular story that loosely hinted at me turning three triple plays single-handedly in one game.

"I'm not good at _everything_," I said, not trying to be modest. _If I were good at everything, I could convince myself not to be in love with you._

"Yes you are," she insisted. "You have this strange ability to dazzle people, and to make them—" She stopped abruptly.

"Make them what?" I asked, more interested than ever.

"Well… you know," she replied, not looking into my eyes. Suddenly she seemed to find her shoes very interesting.

"No, I don't know."

In a sudden urge to understand, I took her free hand in mine, bringing both sets of interlocked hands right below her chin, I gazed into her eyes for the longest time, and I was struck by the want to kiss her. I wanted to feel her lips against mine, a feeling that I had, for so long, forced myself to go without. It would be wrong. I shouldn't. Yet I wanted to.

Then, ever so softly, Bella whispered, "You're right."

"I usually am," I said quietly, hoping that it sounded more irresistible and manly than egotistical, "but about what in particular this time?"

"You're not good at everything."

At first I was taken aback. I wasn't sure if what she said was supposed to be an insult of a compliment. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're not a very good liar, Edward."

My mind fretted over the possibilities. Was she upset about not telling her we were vampires? No, that couldn't be it. She understood that I had always wanted to tell her. Then maybe it was something else? "What am I lying about?" I asked desperately.

She just gave me a little smile, obviously pitying my ignorance. "What's in your pocket Edward?"

Of all the things I was expecting, this was not one of them. Many options of what to do scurried through my mind, but I decided to play it cool.

"Why would I have anything in my pocket, Bella? I asked, hoping to turn on some of that dazzling personality she had just informed me about.

"W-well…" she stuttered, blinking rapidly and not meeting my gaze. "There… there could be… I mean…." she trailed off.

Standing there, holding my hands, Bella suddenly looked so vulnerable. Like anything could come at any moment and break her, tear her into little pieces. I could never let that happen. Without ever having realized it, I saw now that if anything were to happen to Bella, I would be lost. I had let myself get so attached to her that, somehow, I needed her; needed her to be close, needed to be in her presence. She was the most important thing to me now.

And yet, holding her hands wasn't enough. Greedy and unworthy as I was, I wanted more.

"Bella," I said softly but firmly. She looked up and met my eyes. Controlling my voice, I continued. "Do I scare you?"

Slowly, she shook her head back and forth twice.

"And Bella," I whispered, stepping forward and nearly closing the space between us, "are you sure… are you sure you trust me?"

She looked at me for so long, I almost thought she hadn't heard me. My eyes searched hers, willing her to understand. Then, in a voice just barely audible, she answered me.

"I have answered that question once already, Edward Cullen, and I have no intention of changing my answer anytime soon."

The smile on her face, the sound of her voice, the feeling of her hands… it was all too much. Without thinking, without calculating the consequences, I kissed her.

**A/N: o0o0o0o cliffy!! i know you don't deserve that after all i put you through, but i thought it was necessary (well, at least entertaining). and it would really help me post the next chapter faster if you REVIEW!! even one word, even a little... that would make my day!! THANK YOU!!**

**Hakuna Matata,**

**-RW**


	16. Too Late

**A/N: hello again guys! i know ive been completely horrible to you. its been almost a month AGAIN. ugh. i promise, i am trying to get these up sooner!! but does anyone even read the author's notes, anyway? hm, lets do an experiment. there once was a little puppy who was left out in the rain. so a girl found him, took the puppy out of the mean boy's backyard, and brought it back into her house. when the mean boy came looking for his puppy, he found that the girl had and he wanted his puppy back. but the girl wouldn't give it back because he had been so mean to it. so the girl and the puppy lived happily ever after, and the boy became nice over time and when he was nicer, he got another puppy and treated it right, and the girl's puppy and his puppy became friends. yay!! ok, if you actually read that wonderful and enlightening story, please put some sort of smiley in your review so i can be sneaky and we can a trick on all those non-believers!! haha just kidding... but please still put the smiley :)**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own it. If i did, i would be eagerly awaiting the Breaking Dawn release, and... oh wait, that doesn't prove my point... anyway, i don't own Twilight or _Newsies_. Yeah. Just read. **

**Chapter 15**

Vladgor POV

Some people might call me a stalker. Watching my two subjects, I almost felt like one.

Almost.

The passion of their moment radiated off them and the love and intensity they had together was synced in perfect unison. They moved as one in graceful harmony. Time seemed to stop for them as they were enveloped in their own personal fireworks display. It was everything any couple would have hoped for, and more.

It disgusted me.

They finally broke the embrace, and he held her at arm's length, taking in every feature of her face; her figure; her aura.

"Bella," he murmured, pulling her, once again, into a hug.

"Edward," she mumbled back, closing her eyes.

So. These were the two lovebirds I would have the pleasure of dealing with. These were the two lovebirds I would have the pleasure of breaking apart—the hard way.

As I turned to leave, a maniacal grin spread over my face. This was going to be fun.

Edward POV

As I held her in my arms, all was right in the world. For the first time, there was no sense of foreboding, no resistance to our touch. Everything was perfect, at least for now, with this wondrous creature in my arms. I couldn't focus on anything else. Of course, that was probably because nothing else really mattered. It was just Bella and I, here and now. And that was enough.

But amid all this happiness was the weight in my pocket, pulling me away from complete and utter bliss: the note. I remembered what they wanted to do to her. I understood now, even more than before, that I could not and _would_ not let that happen.

"Nothing is ever going to happen to you," I promised, more to myself than her. "Never."

She looked up into my eyes, a confused expression on her face. "What would happen to me, Edward?" Then her face clouded over. "If you're still talking about yourself, if you're still worried that you'll hurt me… well, don't. It's absurd to think that, after being with me for so long. You've never done _anything_ to harm me, ever—"

"No, Bella, not me," I said, trying to console her. "Others. People who might want to hurt you. But I won't let them. I won't—"

"What others?" Bella interrupted.

I suddenly realized what I was saying, stopped immediately, and tried to fix it, though I knew I had completely messed up my master plan for a flawless evening.

"No others, Bella. It's nothing." I smiled, hoping that that would be the end of that. Obviously, it wasn't.

"Don't try to lie to me, Edward!" she said, letting go of my hands, and folding her arms across her chest. "What others?!"

A smile crept across my face in spite of the situation; I noticed that Bella was extremely cute when she was angry.

Unfortunately, me smiling at her was only making her angrier. "Edward, if there's something wrong, I have the right to know about it, especially if it involves me! What if—"

She stopped mid-sentence, and comprehension seemed to dawn on her, as if the pieces of the puzzle were finally clicking into place.

"Edward," she said slowly, evenly, "what's in your pocket."

It wasn't a question. It was more of a '_show-me-the-note-right-now-Mister-or-you're-dead_' kind of statement. And considering I was already dead, my options weren't looking too good.

Finally, after a moment of silence, I slid my hand into my pocket. Tentatively, I brought out a slightly yellowed piece of paper, with crease lines down the middle of the page in both directions.

"Bella," I said, handing the paper to her, "I'll keep you safe. I promise."

Bella POV

I must have read the note about a hundred times before speaking.

"Edward…" was all I could muster up.

Immediately, he flew to my side and wrapped his arms around me. "Oh Bella, it's going to be okay. I knew you would be upset, and I just couldn't bring myself to be the one to make you that way… this is all my fault…" He rambled on and on. "If I hadn't… if only I could have… if there was some way…"

I hugged him back and buried my head into his shoulder, inhaling his heavenly scent. How could I have ever lived without this before? Not even knowing what this felt like, how it should be. "Edward," I said to him, which got his attention. "Edward, I trust you. Completely and utterly. Do you think I would be here with you right now if I didn't?"

He looked at me, and for once, he didn't say anything. That gave me the courage to go on.

"I understand why you didn't want me to know about this. But, to tell you the truth… I'm not scared. Really. I probably should be… but I'm not. And I think… well, to be perfectly honest, I think its because I'm with you. And I know that when I'm with you, nothing bad will ever happen to me," I told him, blushing darker with every word I confided in him.

At first I was afraid he was going to laugh at me, and he did a little. But it was that soft, tinkling laugh, like wind chimes in the breeze, that I loved so much.

"That's good," He told me with a smile. "I'm glad you feel safe around me. That's the way it should be. I should be your protector, not your worst nightmare." His eyes gleamed intensely. "I would much sooner put myself in jeopardy than have anyone harm you, Bella."

"Don't say that," I told him. The thought of him not being around, of me, existing without him, was almost too much for me to tolerate. A life without Edward was no longer a life I was willing to live. But I didn't tell him that.

We stood in silence for a few more minutes, watching the sky grow darker and simply enjoying each other's company. However, as much as I tried to hide it, I eventually felt the familiar heaviness of my eyelids, the strength of my body slowly fading. Despite my best efforts, though, Edward must have noticed. All too soon, he was telling me, "You must be exhausted. Let's get you home."

Home.

I groaned. "What is it?" Edward asked.

"Charlie's going to have a cow since it's already dark and I haven't even bothered to call. And I bet the fact that you're bringing me home will make him even happier," I said sarcastically, looking at him apologetically. But he seemed to understand.

"Don't worry," he said with a small smile. "Alice took care of all that. She called him and asked if you could stay for a dinner and 'movie night'. Of course, Charlie was thrilled and immediately agreed to let you stay."

"Oh, thank God," I said. "It's a good thing he loves Alice."

His smile widened, and with that, we (well, actually _he_) sped off toward my house. He was running at super-nova-vampire-speed again, so I closed my eyes and tried extremely hard not to doze off.

And then, in no time at all, we were at my front step. I clambered off Edward's back, and grimaced at the door, as if it were the door's fault I had to leave Edward so soon. "It's time for goodbye already?" I asked the wonderful vampire in front of me.

"Not quite," he said mischievously. He kissed the tip of my nose, winked, and disappeared.

"Edward?" I said softly, trying to figure out what he meant. But after a moment, I gave up. Instead, I concentrated on trying to rearrange my facial features into a tired, somewhat glazed over expression to mask the fact that I could still feel the tip of my nose tingling. Then I walked through the front door.

"Hey Bells," Charlie called from his favorite chair in front of the TV. "How was Batman?"

I sighed in relief. It was a good thing Alice had picked a movie that I had seen more than once before. Of course, that probably wasn't a coincidence.

"Good," I replied; the generic answer. I decided to add something extra, just to be safe. "Alice really liked all the actors, though. Only she said she liked Christian Bale better in _Newsies_… I guess he sang in that one."

Charlie grunted. I shouldn't have been surprised—the Mariners were playing, and it was the top of the ninth with bases loaded, so his attention was almost completely focused on the screen in front of him.

"Goodnight Dad," I said, climbing up the stairs.

"'Night, Bells," he said, actually turning around in his chair. "I'm glad you had a good time."

Before I went into my room, I decided to take care of all my personal hygiene needs first, so that the minute my head hit the pillow I could fall straight asleep—probably dream of Edward, too, but I tried not to admit that to myself.

Once that was done, I shuffled into my room lazily, and just about fell over when I saw my favorite vampire sitting on the edge of my bed waiting for me.

"Edward!" I squealed, shutting the door as an extra precaution to make sure Charlie didn't come upstairs to check on me. "What are you doing here??"

"I told you it wasn't time for goodbye yet," he said.

"Oh, Edward," I sighed, hugging him. He put his arms around me once again, and in that moment I was completely content. Then I heard that velvety voice talking to me.

"I'll keep you safe from him, Bella. He won't touch you."

Something was nagging at the back of my mind. "So," I said slowly, tentatively, trying to figure out the best way to word what I was about to say, "you're not…going to, you know…turn me? Into a…vampire?"

"Of course not!" he exclaimed. "I would never do that to you!"

"Oh." I hadn't known that he found the idea of me becoming a vampire so distasteful. I immediately cursed myself for thinking that way; just because I would willingly go through anything to spend eternity with him didn't mean he necessarily wanted me around that long.

I guess I wasn't hiding my feelings as well as I would have liked, because Edward took one look at my face, and started explaining.

"Oh, Bella! No, that's not what I meant!" He laughed softly. "Of course I want to be with you… much more than you know… but you have no idea what that would mean." He shuddered. "The pain you would have to endure, this horrid, cursed life you would be forced to live… I could never put you through that."

"Wow," I mused, "you really dislike what you are."

"Dislike?" He laughed humorlessly. "I don't dislike it—I _despise_ it. Having to feed off animals so that we wont have to kill humans? Having to hide from society because we could be dangerous? Always being outcasts? Never being able to make friends because you know that if they ever found out they'd be terrified of you, and with good reason?" He sighed. "Bella, I would never doom you to that life. Ever. And I promise, I will never let that _freak_—he spit out the word—turn you, either."

I let out another real intelligent, "Oh," and decided to keep off that subject for a while.

I wanted to stay up the rest of the night, just talking to Edward, or listening to him talk to me. But it was getting late, and I was extremely tired. A yawn escaped me, and his expression softened.

"Time for bed," he said, tucking me in and kissing me softly. "See you in the morning."

I sighed. "Okay," I said, "even though that's too long."

"The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner I'll see you again."

"That's true," I mumbled, thinking about how I'd probably see him in my dreams, too. "Goodnight, Edward."

"Goodnight, love."

I heard a rustling outside my window, and he was gone.

Edward POV

I was on cloud nine. For once in my eternal life, everything was perfect. I ran home, the wind blowing my hair, and I relived today in my mind. I would go back tonight, of course, to Bella's house to watch her sleep again, but she needn't know that yet—too many surprises in one day isn't always a good thing.

When I was about halfway to the house, I could vaguely hear the thoughts of my brothers and sisters. However, Jasper's, in particular, stood out. As I got closer, I could make them out better.

_Edward, can you hear me? If you can, you need to hurry home. Now. It's important. Something's wrong, I can feel it. _

His thoughts startled me. _But what could be wrong_, I reasoned with myself. After all, I had just left Bella mere minutes ago, and she was the only thing that was really important to me right now.

So I made a decision I would later regret: I did nothing.

I kept running at my normal pace (normal for a vampire, anyway). When I got to the house I would change, take care of some other quick little things, and be back before Bella even started sleep talking. It would be as if I had never left in the first place.

But when I approached the house, the atmosphere seemed tense. It almost felt like I was having a déjà vu experience of a matter I wished to forget.

The minute I opened the door, Jasper ran up to me. "Edward! Why did you take so long? Did you even hear me?"

"Yeah, I did. But I just left Bella a minute ago, and she was fine then. Maybe a little tired, but nothing a good night's sleep won't fix."

He disregarded my assessment of the situation. "How long ago did you leave? _Exactly_ how long?"

I shrugged. "I don't know how long, to the second. Three minutes? Maybe more? I don't know, Jasper, why is it that important?" I was so caught up in my good mood that I could think of nothing else. Why was Jasper trying to ruin this moment for me?

I took one look at his face. _That's long enough,_ his thoughts said.

"Long enough for _what_?" I asked. I was starting to get a little aggravated.

I could tell that his mind was in overdrive. "Edward, go check on Bella. Right now. Make sure that she's alright."

"_Why?_" I demanded. "Do you think I can't take care of her myself?"

"Edward, you know that's not the reason," He said, reasoning with me as though I was 75 again. Then he let out a nervous sigh. "Alice had a vision."

I hadn't known that I was pacing, but I quickly stopped when he said that. "What?" I asked quietly.

He nodded his head. "Rosalie and Esme are trying to console her. It was that bad. I'm the only one she would tell because she was afraid that you would be angry with her. Emmett went out to try to find you while I stayed here in case you came home first. Carlisle is trying to contact some of his old… _friends_." He gave me a meaningful look. I knew which ones he meant: the ones who had sent us the note.

"I'll be back," I called over my shoulder as I raced out the door again. In twenty seconds flat, I was in Bella's room again.

The trouble was, Bella wasn't there.

I searched everywhere: her closet, under the bed. I even chanced looking in the bathroom, but I knew it was useless.

In one last, desperate attempt, I made another quick search of her room. It was then that I found a new slightly yellowed piece of paper. It was creased down the middle of the page in both directions. And on it were three words, written in red ink.

_You're too late._

**A/N: yay! another note! actually, its more like, "DINGMAHOMEE WINGDA WANGDA GAHHHH ANOTHER STUPID NOTE!!" but still... i am becoming very partial to these slightly yellowed pieces of paper with crease lines down the middle of the page in both directions. **

**NOTE: please read my oneshot! it is funny... hopefully it will give you a chuckle :)**

**the more you review the better i write--seriously. so you know what to do! click that little sucker like your life depemded on it! or... click that little sucker like EDWARD'S life depended on it!! whichever floats your boat.**

**Hakuna Matata,**

**-RW**


	17. Nightmares vs Reality

**A/N: ok, so i wrote this entire chapter and was about to post it yesterday... but then i realized that the entire last part didn't save, so then i had to re-write it. hopefully its as good as it was the first time around. yay to all the lovely people who put smiley faces in their reviews! you get an extra cookie.**

**sorry about the length of this chapter--read the author's note at the bottom, please :)**

**Chapter 16**

Bella's POV

I was dreaming. I _had_ to be dreaming. And yet, I still wasn't sure.

Dreams distort time. That may be a little strange, but it's true. You could be asleep the entire night and have a dream that runs the course of about five minutes. Other nights, the dream could seem to go on for hours, or even days, but you'll wake up to see that only ten minutes have passed.

So the thing is, I remembered falling asleep. As soon as Edward was gone, my head hit the pillow and I was out like a light. Then my dream started.

_I was traveling on the 1918 steam engine on the Union Pacific Railroad. Out the window, country sides of cornfields and vineyards sped by. I flattened my dress nervously; somehow I knew we were almost there. _

_A couple of minutes later, the whistle sounded, and the engine slowly came to a stop in the station._

_As I got off, I looked around for one specific person. My conscious self didn't have a clue who I was looking for, but the part of me that was dreaming knew that I would know who they were when I saw them._

_And I did._

_The slight breeze ruffled his bronze hair. He stood about six feet tall, and was leaning casually against a wall in the station. And the minute my eyes locked on his,—bright green ones, glowing with so much happiness they looked like Emeralds—that brilliant crooked smile spread across his face, and I knew he was the one._

"_Edward," I murmured, as I ran through the crowd, passing who knows how many people, too quickly to really notice any of them._

_I finally reached him—felt his outstretched hand for a mere second—before it started._

_It was as if there were ropes, all around me, pulling me away from him against my will. Despite my hardest efforts, I could not break free. This supernatural power far outweighed my own strength, try as I might to stop it._

_Edward, too, was groping for my hand to save me, to pull me in, but it was in vain. The more he seemed to stretch, the more the force seemed to pull me away. And suddenly, there was a pair of hands around my legs, hoisting me up and over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carrying me farther and farther away from Edward._

"_Edward!" I cried out in anguish. He was almost completely gone, while I was fading farther into empty blackness. _

_I saw his lips form my name, but perhaps it was just wishful thinking. _

_Once again, something in my life had been going well; so unbelievably well, that it seemed too good to be true. And that's exactly what it was: too good to be true. In other words, not real in the slightest._

I experienced the sensation of opening my eyes, but I quickly closed them again once I saw what before me.

Though I was bound and gagged, I could still see. I was in somewhere that looked like and old, rundown basement. I couldn't tell where I was, but none of it looked very friendly. Especially the man that was sitting about two feet away from my face.

He had short, jet-black hair that was slicked up in the front. All his features were picture-perfect—his nose, his ears, his lips—even down to an award-winning smile that could have been on a billboard for Crest Whitening Strips or any orthodontist imaginable. He might have even been considered handsome—except for the blood-red eyes that seemed horribly out of place on this beautiful creature.

I know I must have gasped, but it got caught in the rag that had been stuffed into my mouth.

He laughed. It was a laugh that should not have some out of such a perfect mouth.

"Hello, sweetheart," he whispered in a voice that made my spine tingle, my skin crawl, and my hair stand on end all at once, "I see you."

In that instant, I knew that there was no way on this Earth that this was a dream. If anything, it was a nightmare.

And the worst part of all was that it was real.

Edward's POV

I held the glass bowl in my hands, remembering when we had gotten it—the only 1983 model ever made, handcrafted in Tunisia; Alice had bought it in her 'online shopping' phase—and hurled it against the wall with all my might.

It hit and shattered into a million pieces right in front of my eyes. "Arggggg!" I moaned in anguish, putting both my hands behind my head; destroying priceless and irreplaceable pieces of china was no longer enough.

Then I heard someone's thoughts from the doorframe of the living room.

"What do you want, Rosalie?" I growled menacingly.

She sighed as if she were talking to a ten-year-old. "Everyone's getting tired of you throwing things, you know. I think we'd _all_ appreciate it if you'd stop. Now."

I snarled at her. "It's all right for you, though, isn't it?" I yelled at her, taking all my anger and despair and propelling it at Rosalie through my words. "You all have someone you care about, someone you love; someone you'd give the whole world to get back. And they're all fine. You may not understand that, Rose, but Bella is gone now, and it's _all my fault_. If I had only been faster, or if I had never left her…" I trailed off, trying desperately to explain myself. "Rose, I promised Bella I would keep her safe, I promised! And now she's gone, all because of me!"

To my utter amazement, Rosalie rolled her eyes at me. "Oh, come _on_, Edward! Will you get _over_ yourself!" she seethed angrily.

I stared at her.

"Edward," she half laughed, the menacing note still in her voice. "You need to get off your high horse. If it's your fault that Bella's gone, go _do_ something about it! Stop slouching around and feeling sorry for yourself, and for God's sake, stop _breaking_ things to make yourself feel better! You say that it's your fault, yet you do nothing. So here's an idea: _help_ her. _Save_ her. Do whatever you have to to find her." She fixed me with a cold stare. "If you care about her even half as much as you say you do, I think you owe her that much." With that, she turned on her heel and left.

I stood in stunned silence, anger coursing through every cell of my being. How could she just assume that? Rose had never once been with Bella, seen her radiant face light up the room as it had so often done for me. How dare she accuse me of not loving Bella more than anything else in the world? She didn't know us. And she had never even cared enough to try.

Rosalie had always been less than supportive of my and Bella's relationship, to say the least. But as the fury inside of me slowly receded and I replayed everything she had just said, I realized something. In her own strange and twisted way, I was almost certain that Rose had just given me some advice. Good advice. And, regardless of how much I hated the fact that she was right and knew it, I was going to do as she suggested.

But before I went on a wild goose chase with no planning at all, there was one more thing I needed to do.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

I knocked on the door urgently. "Alice," I called, "can I come in?"

I heard a small sob_. That must be him now_, she thought, _coming to yell at me because it's my fault Bella's gone. And I deserve everything he's going to do to me. I'm horrible; he has every right to— _I heard her sigh. _And now he's listening to everything I'm thinking. Well, come in Edward, I know you can hear me._

Cautiously, I opened the door. There was Alice, sitting on her newly acquired bed, looking out the window and wiping tears off her face. I had never seen her so helpless. Jasper had tried to comfort her, of course, but she had sent him away. I knew it had to be bad if she had done that, but she was in worse condition than I had thought. Still, I had something I had to do, and that wasn't going to stop me.

But maybe I could spare a little comforting time.

"Alice," I said, rushing over to her.

"Edward," she managed between sobs, "I—"

"I know what you're going to say," I stated bluntly; obviously being careful wasn't going to work. "But it's not your fault, Alice. I don't blame you, and you shouldn't blame yourself, either."

"How can you say that?" she moaned loudly. "Edward, you _should_ blame me. It's not only my fault, but if I hadn't—"

"If you hadn't seen her being taken," I cut her off, "then we wouldn't have known until later, and we wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. But since you _did_ see something, we should take advantage of it."

She eyed me carefully. "What do you mean?"

"I do have an idea," I admitted. "But first, you have to promise me something." I was talking quickly now; I wasn't sure how much time we had left, but I was positive that we shouldn't waste more than was strictly necessary.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I need you to promise me that you won't blame yourself for what happened to Bella. It's not your fault, and there's nothing you could have done to prevent it. All right?"

She was about to argue back, but I held up my hand. "Alice, stop. Bella needs us, so we need to not waste any more time."

She sighed in defeat. "Fine."

"Good," I sighed with relief. "Now, we're going to need everyone's help with this," I told her.

"Everyone?" she asked warily, but what she was really thinking was, _Even Rosalie?_

"Yes, everyone," I replied, "whether they like it or not."

"Okay, if you're sure…just tell me what to do!"

I cocked my smile. "I need you to do some…shopping for me."

Alice furrowed her eyebrows. She knew that _I _knew that this was both her weakness and her strongest ability. If there was something to be bought, Alice was the right person to ask. But I had never even hinted at her doing something like this before. "Edward, what are you thinking?"

All of a sudden, she went completely rigid. Her eyes glazed over, her mouth opened slightly, and her face was wiped entirely blank of all emotion. She was having a vision.

In a couple of seconds, she came to. Then she squealed. Loudly.

"Ooh, Edward! That's a wonderful idea!" She jumped up and down beside me, and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of her room. "Let's go!"

**A/N: okay, so I need your help, as readers. **

**option A: I could end it soon, in maybe 3 chapters or so, maybe a little more. probably 5 max. I have that option planned out.**

**option B: I could lengthen the story a bit, and put in another twist to make it longer. I have most of that option planned out, but it may take a little longer for me to do the next chapter. but then again, there will be more chapters in the long-run. probably a lot more than option A.**

**choices, choices...**

**please tell me what you would prefer! the more reviews I get with opinions, the faster i will decide which one to do and post the next chapter. thanks a bunch! Hakuna Matata,**

**-RW**


	18. Phase One

**A/N: i am so sorry. i am eternally in your debt. i have to read 2 summer reading books, one of which i got 1/2 way through and hated, so I'm going to read another instead. the other is called The Once and Future King. i have some advice for anyone looking at the title and thinking "hmm, that sounds good." well, its not. if you value what little sanity you have left, _DO NOT READ IT_. **

**recap because i have been so bad at updating:**

_I cocked my smile. "I need you to do some…shopping for me."_

_Alice furrowed her eyebrows. She knew that I knew that this was both her weakness and her strongest ability. If there was something to be bought, Alice was the right person to ask. But I had never even hinted at her doing something like this before. "Edward, what are you thinking?"_

_All of a sudden, she went completely rigid. Her eyes glazed over, her mouth opened slightly, and her face was wiped entirely blank of all emotion. She was having a vision._

_In a couple of seconds, she came to. Then she squealed. Loudly._

_"Ooh, Edward! That's a wonderful idea!" She jumped up and down beside me, and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of her room. "Let's go!"_

**Chapter 17**

Jasper POV

Things weren't looking too good. And that's when you saw the glass half-full.

Edward had pulled himself together enough to get things organized. He had Alice shop online for the fastest and most direct flights to Italy. She had even bought us each a set of travel bags and outfits that were to be packed and delivered for us at the airport in Seattle. My little angel's part of the plan had gone perfectly.

My job was to keep everyone calm and focused during our trip. Edward didn't specify, but I had a feeling he specifically meant himself. That was going to be the most difficult part.

As soon as we had boarded our first plane, his mood darkened. He was left with the illustrations he had created of unthinkable things happening to Bella. I sent wave after wave of condolences and calm to him, but it was only about five or ten minutes before I had to send another.

Alice could see the toll that my actions were taking on me to continuously relieve him of all his stress. "If there's anything I can do to make it better…" she told me, squeezing my hand soothingly. I smiled back at her, and gave her a quick kiss on the nose.

"You've already done your part, honey. It's time for me to do mine," I whispered back.

She laid her tiny head against my arm with a sigh, and made herself comfortable for the rest of the plane ride.

It was on our second flight from New York to Italy that the tension finally snapped.

I was in the middle of calming Edward when I heard his low growl. It was so soft and quick that it would have been inaudible to any human listening.

I quickly turned around in my seat to face him. "What is it, Edward?" I asked.

"Rosalie," he snarled, his eyes tightly closed. Sure enough, when I looked over at her, there was a smug smile across her full lips.

"What did you say?" I demanded in Rosalie's direction, too fast for any human ears to comprehend.

"I didn't _say_ anything," she sneered.

"What was she thinking, Edward?" Alice asked in an undertone.

His voice was filled with emotional strain and his face was contorted into an expression of utter revulsion. "That this whole trip was pointless. That we shouldn't be wasting so much time on something that will come to nothing. That we should just let her…die." He choked out the last word.

I glared at Rose. She simply shrugged and turned to look out the window.

"Listen to me, Edward," I said. "Listen to me. We will _not_ let that happen, do you hear me? Bella is part of our family now. Family helps family. That's the way it works. Rose doesn't have to like it, but that's the way it's going to be." It was the longest speech I had said in a long time, but I hoped I had gotten through to him. I waited until he met my eyes. "You know that, right?"

He nodded. His face still held some anguish, but him mood had lightened a little.

"We're here for you, man," I said, turning back while sending a wave of calm his way.

"Thank you," he whispered after a minute.

"Sure thing," I said back. And I could feel that he really meant it.

I turned to see Alice smiling at me. In an instant, it flashed across my mind how I would feel if it were Alice in danger instead of Bella. I knew that it would be unbearable. Intolerable. Which was why relief overtook me at the sight of her small body next to me, safe and sound.

I leaned over and whispered against her lips, "I love you."

In return, her lips curved up into a smile. Right before she kissed me, she whispered back my favorite line.

"I know."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When we got to the airport in Italy, Edward, Emmett and Carlisle went to get our bags while Alice and Esme went to find the fastest car available. That left Rose and myself: the Hale twins. That title seemed to belong to a life from long ago.

At first I wasn't completely thrilled with this decision. I would much rather have gone with Alice than stayed behind with a moody Rosalie. But as Rose got moodier, I decided it was high time to talk to her.

I took the seat next to her at a table in a Starbucks stall where she was pretending to sip her iced coffee. As soon as I sat down, she rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Jasper?"

"What I want," I told her seriously, "is to know why you're so against Edward being happy."

She calmly brought the cup up to her lips, and back down to the table. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied smoothly.

"Back at the house, you told Edward to do everything it takes to save Bella. You said that if he really loved her, he owed it to her. That was a low blow." I locked my gaze on her. "Then, not two hours ago, you decide to think that we would be better off without her."

"I only thought it. If he doesn't like that, then he shouldn't be prying around in my brain."

"Rose, that's the worst excuse you've had so far, including all that flat-out lying." I was starting to get aggravated now. "You know he can't help it."

She stuck her nose in the air. "Maybe I'm doing it for his own good."

I gave a humorless laugh. "And maybe I'll get another full night's sleep. What good could you possibly be doing him by tearing him down?"

"Jasper, you don't know Edward like I do. When he gets mad, it doesn't tear him down. It _motivates_ him. If there is some way in his power that he can make it right, he will." She chuckled. "If there's one thing Edward is good at, it's proving someone else wrong when he knows that he's right."

I stared at her incredulously.

"So… you're trying to help him?"

"Hallelujah, the boy's a genius," she said sarcastically. Then she was serious again. "Jasper, I knew that if I did something to make Edward mad, it would fuel the fire inside him and make him all the more determined to do what he knows he has to."

She sighed. "So no, I don't hate Bella like everyone thinks I do. I just know how to get to Edward."

I blinked at her for a second, and then slowly nodded my head. What Rose was doing actually made sense. A lot of sense. It may not have been the nicest way to motivate Edward, but then again, when had Rosalie ever taken the nice factor into consideration before taking action?

She met my eyes with a smug expression on her face. "Just don't go over board, okay Rose?" I asked.

"I'll try, though that really depends on your definition of 'overboard'," she challenged.

I got up with a sigh. There was nothing else I could do but hope that she didn't drive Edward insane too quickly.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Rose was almost at the gates. This wasn't the time of year that the festival would be held, but red flags hung from foreboding buildings nonetheless. As she approached the single guard next to the gates, Edward whispered from behind a brick wall about 10 feet away, "Okay Rose, this is it. You're on."

She nodded from the driver's seat of the yellow 911 Turbo Porsche (**A/N: I thought some people might get mad if I changed the car so i didn't**) and pasted a seductive grin on her lips.

From our hiding place, I saw her roll down her window and smile at the guard. "Hello, there," she said.

The guard's eyes widened and he blinked furiously when his eyes first came to rest on her brilliant face. But he quickly regained his composure. "Excuse me, miss," he said apologetically in a thick Italian accent, " but this section of the city is off-limits right now. I'm sorry to say that I cannot let you in, and it would better suit your time if you found something else of interest in the city."

Rose batted her eyelashes. "I'm very sorry to hear that. I was _so_ hoping to see the buildings and walk around the square. This place has immense meaning to me. Sentimental value, you could say."

I took a peak at the guard. He was torn. Doing his job, or permitting a beautiful, evidently harmless woman to look around for a while. It was almost too much for him.

Rose kept her gaze downcast and her tone disheartened. "But I understand that there is nothing you can so. Because you seem like a very nice, considerate man," she said, emphasizing each word, "who must be extremely important to have such a critical job."

I thought she may have been laying it on a little thick, but one glance at the guard told me that she was selling her story and flattery in the very best way.

She was gazing up at him through thick, long lashed, now. "If only there were some way…" She sighed. "I do miss this place…" she pretended to focus on the road ahead. "Well, thank you for all your help. I only wish—"

And that's when he snapped. The poor man was only human—he never had a chance. "Wait!" he called after her. "Miss, I… I suppose you could take a look around." He was sweating now. "I mean, how could it hurt?" it seemed as though he was trying to convince himself now, more than her.

Rose's eyes widened in mock surprise. "Really?" You would do that for me? Oh, that would mean so much!"

She began to start the engine again, knowing he would stop her. He did.

"Miss, just one favor I would like to ask of you… if we could… keep this little visit between the two of us?"

"Of course," Rosalie replied, giving him an award-winning smile. "Between the two of us."

He then proceeded to open the gate for her, ad the car slid through. Unbeknown to him, six other vampires ran in along with her, invisible to the human eye.

"Yes," she muttered as soon as she was through, "between the two of us." She winked at Edward, who momentarily appeared beside the driver's side of the Porsche.

"Phase one of the plan is complete. It's time to confront the Volturi."

**A/N: sorry its so short, but i had to end it somewhere good, and i didn't want you to have to wait any more for an update. **

**i started a new story! its an all-human one which means i can make them do anything!! (insert evil vladgor laugh here) so please read & review because it makes me happy, and makes me feel very guilty when i don't update regularly ;)**

**please review! it makes me happy! **

**-RW**


	19. Apoligies

Okay. I know none of you want to hear this, but I am unfortunately going to have to put both of my stories on temporary hiatus. **TEMPORARY!!** As in, **WILL NOT BE FOREVER**. It will hopefully only be for about a month, a month and a half at the most. This is because I am a freshman in High School, am on the soccer team, and don't have enough time for everything else as it is. I hoped that weekends would be enough to be able to write and update, but weekends are when I have to finish and get ahead on all the assignments I have missed or need to do for the upcoming week. Most days I get up at 5:45 or 6 in the morning, catch the bus at a little before 7, get out of school at 2:15, have soccer until 5 (or sometimes 6 if there's a game), stay up until about 10 or 11 finishing homework, and do it all over again the next day. I simply have no time to do anything for myself, much less write fanfics for other people.

THIS IS NOT A HAPPY DECISION FOR ME, EITHER!! I love writing fanfics, and I love knowing that there are people out there who love reading what I'm writing. It makes me happy. But since soccer and school are eating up my life right now, I have to TEMPORARILY put my fics on hiatus until the soccer season is over. At that time, I will have an extra 3-4 hours after school to do homework! That means that I can go to bed earlier, get ahead, and most importantly, WRITE MY FANFICS! So until then, please stay with me. I apologize wholeheartedly. Soon I will be back and better than ever!

-Roonil Wazlib


	20. Unsuccessful Phase Two

**A/N: Lord be holy, where do I start?**

**There is no way I could ever ask you guys to forgive me. Seriously. I have no excuse for this. That's the saddest part. But i hope you will like this chapter anyway, and that it may make up just a little bit for what I did. And if it means anything to you, I stayed up until 11 the night before my birthday writing the longest chapter I have ever--that's right, EVER--written because I felt so guilty about doing this to all of you.**

**And if it makes you feel better, this chapter is five times as long as my term paper. **

**WARNING: fluff & sap. And lots of it. =)**

**Chapter 18**

EPOV

We were all congregated in a little ally inside the walls of the city. We, meaning everyone except for the very reason for my existence.

Bella was somewhere inside, and no matter how it happened, I would get her out. I had to get her out. It was my fault that she was in this mess; I would do everything in my power to make it right again. Even if it meant taking out every single person in that accursed place, I would do it as long as it meant Bella was safe.

But first I had to focus on trying to find a way to get inside.

"Why don't we just bash down the front door?" Emmett suggested, sounding more than willing. "Then they'll know who they're dealing with. All we'll have to do is ask for her back. They'll be so afraid that they'll give us anything we want!" He flexed his muscles impressively.

"Somehow I doubt that's going to work, Emmett," Alice said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I bet they have plenty of strong people in there with them."

"Alice is right," Jasper agreed, putting his arm around Alice. "You're good Emmett, but you're not that good."

Emmett huffed. "Fine, Mr. Rain-on-my-parade. I was just trying to help. I want Bella back too, you know." He crossed his arms, a pout on his face. "I bet I could beat up whoever took Bella."

"Bet you couldn't," I heard Jasper mutter quietly to himself.

"What did you say, Jasper?" Emmett seethed, apparently unhappy with Jasper's lack of support. "I could _so_ take him on! Five bucks I beat him!"

"Ten bucks you hit him on the head and knock him out."

"You're on!"

"This is great guys," I said. "Now we just have to _find_ the guy that took Bella, not to mention Bella herself. Does anyone have any ideas about how to accomplish _that_?"

Emmett and Japer hung their heads. "Sorry."

I sighed. It's okay. I guess I'm just a little on edge."

"It's all right, son," Carlisle comforted me, putting his arm over my shoulders. "We understand. We all want Bella back, too."

I smiled, thought I knew that wasn't true.

Rosalie was leaning up against one of the ally walls, filing her nails. Of course, I knew I couldn't blame her. She had done her part, even thought she hadn't been happy about it, and I wouldn't ask for anything more; I wasn't expecting a miracle.

She saw me looking at her, and rolled her eyes. _Good Lord, Edward, _she thought,_ stop being so melodramatic. Of course I want Bella back, too. She may not be my favorite person in the world, but… I hate our whining more than I hate her._

My eyes widened involuntarily.

_I'm only joking, Edward. If she means that much to you which I can see that she does… well, just make sure you don't hurt yourself too much trying to get her back. _

I opened my mouth to thank her, but her thoughts interrupted me. _Oh, and if you ever try to tell anyone we had this conversation, I'll deny it._

She winked at me, and I smiled. Good old Rosalie.

"Carlisle," she spoke up, "haven't you been here before? Do you know of any other ways in besides the front entrance?"

Rosalie's comment sparked a chain of memories flowing through his mind. "Hmm…" he muttered, going through each one, trying to remember. "Not that I recall…"

As he scanned the memories, I checked through them, too. I tried to look beyond the obvious—see things that he couldn't

And there was one memory in particular…

"Wait, Carlisle," I said once I saw it, "What was that last one?"

"Saint Marcus Day 1893?" He grimaced. "That was a horrible day. The best turnout for them, of course, but for everyone else…" There was a short silence. We all knew what happened to the humans on that day.

All the same, I forced myself to speak. "There was a moment in the middle of your memory… Someone, a vampire, I'm sure of it, just appeared out of nowhere. It was as if there was a hole in the ground, or something of the sort." I looked questioningly at him. "Is that possible?"

Carlisle's stare hardened. "It's more than possible. A hole in the walkway… almost like a sewer… yes, they would love that. That's extremely likely."

My mind was set. "All right, then. Everyone, let's split up and look. If you find anything… well, let us all know."

They all nodded, and we raced off in different directions.

I took the south side of the clearing, closest to the building itself. The difficult part was that I wasn't completely sure what I was looking for. Stairs? A drop-off? A door? My gut told me that the Volturi wouldn't be stupid enough to make the way in too obvious; they didn't want random people finding it. So maybe there was a switch or a lever on the walls to make it appear…?

I heard her thoughts before I heard her voice.

"Everyone," Esme's quiet, calm voice said, "I think I may have found it."

Before you could blink, we were huddled over a sewer-like hole in the ground. A round top that would be found on a sewer had been over the hole, but Esme had removed it. There was only darkness until about fifteen or twenty feet down where I could just make out the floor.

"That's it, all right," I said, lowering myself down into the hole.

"Edward, wait," Carlisle commanded, grasping my shoulder. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to get Bella!" I huffed, not understanding why he was suddenly stopping me. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're jumping into a dark hole with no idea what's down there, how you're going to find Bella, or how you're going to get her back out safely." He eyed me. "Come on, Edward, you're smarter than that. Let's make a plan first."

I sighed, and let Carlisle help me out of the hole. Of course he was right. We needed a plan.

"Okay," Carlisle started. "Now, obviously we can't all go down there; we need someone to keep watch, and to alert someone if we don't come out…" He looked around at all of us. "Any volunteers?"

"I'll stay," Esme said. "If anyone tries to interrupt your rescue mission from the outside… well," she smiled, "they'll have to go through me first."

"And me," Jasper added, stepping beside Esme. "That means I won't be there to calm you down, Edward, so be a good boy and keep your temper," he joked.

"I'll stay, too," Rosalie said, coming to stand with Esme and Jasper. "Just call me… a distraction." She flipped her hair flirtatiously, raising her eyebrows. Emmett gave a small catcall.

As I stood there looking at my family, I was almost overwhelmed by my emotions. Every one of them meant so much to me, and they were all willing to risk their lives to help what very well could be a lost cause.

No, not a lost cause. I couldn't allow myself to think that. As long as we were still looking, it wouldn't be a lost cause. The memory of Bella would keep be going. Her every word, our every touch… I regretted now that I hadn't let myself get closer to her. It seemed a petty reason, looking back, that I didn't want to be near her because I was afraid of hurting her. How could I ever have thought for a minute that I could have harmed even one hair on the head of one that I cared so much about?

I recalled the night I had stayed up listening to her sleep-talk. Though I remembered it like it was yesterday, the memory seemed from so long ago, as if from a different time. A happy time, when the prospect of us being together was not entirely impossible. A happy time when there was still a hope of what could be… what had been.

If I tried, I could still feel her kiss lingering on my lips. Before her, I couldn't and didn't care to remember the last time a human's lips had touched my own. But that was because Bella was the only human whose lips I ever desired to touch mine again.

Not just desired, because it was much more than that. I had to have her again. I needed her near me. She was my drug, my addiction. I cared for her so immensely that there was no way my life could simply go back to the way it had been before her.

Bella _was_ my life now. There was no way of going back because the life I would be forced to go back to was no longer a life I could tolerate living. A life without Bella was no longer I life I was willing to live. A life without Bella, I realized, was no life at all.

There wasn't an option anymore. And in a way, I suppose there never had been.

It was almost like fate, Bella and I. How else could two people from such completely different worlds have been brought together? It had all seemed so right. But I couldn't help doubting it now, after everything that had happened. If being together was what the universe had in mind, why did it now seem as though fate had turned against us?

Fate had given me a gift, a taste of what perfect was; what perfect could be. And in an instant, fate had pulled it all away.

How could fate have such a powerful hold on the future? If everything was so set in stone that fate was already decided, then Alice's vision was right. Bella would become a vampire because that was fate's plan. Was there any point in trying to change what was already decided?

The memory of Bella's cold, lifeless body flashed through my mind. Never to see her blush again, never to catch her when she tripped, never to look into her bottomless brown eyes… the thought was intolerable. If you took away her human features, she simply wasn't Bella anymore. And if you took away Bella, then there was no reason for me to exist, either. She was my everything. If she changed, my everything would be gone.

A new fire burned bright and strong inside me. Yes, it may be possible that the future was already lain out before me. Yes, it may be possible that it was pointless to try and change it. But that wasn't reason enough not to try.

Not only was Bella my everything, but she was also worth everything to me, and she deserved my best effort. I would save her, or die trying. It was that simple.

So, without hesitating, I lowered my body down into the hole. With one last glance at my family, I released my hold on the edges of the sewer and let go, allowing myself to drop down into the dark depths below.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Not long after, I heard three more soft thumps beside me, and we were off.

At first there was only one ongoing corridor and I was afraid that we had made a mistake. On and on it went, until finally we came to something. The good news was that beyond that something there was a passageway that looked much more promising, branching off and winding. The bad news was that the 'something' in front of us happened to be an enormous iron gate.

Two sets of enormous iron gates, to be exact. The first had bars the size of my head, solid iron all the way through. The second had bars going horizontally and vertically, but they were much smaller—only about the diameter of my thumb. And both gates had massive locks on them.

Carlisle was at my shoulder, seeing the frustrated look on my face. "Don't worry, Edward. We have four very smart vampires here. We'll figure something out."

I nodded. I had to believe that he was right.

The first thing Emmett did was try to bend the bars. But no matter how much he heaved and huffed, the bars didn't budge.

"I could probably bent those smaller ones," Emmett decided, "but that's no good unless we can get through these bigger ones first."

I nodded, disappointed. Why could we think of nothing? We were smarter than that. In a desperate hope to find some way through, I looked to Alice. "Do you think you could fit through the bars?"

She looked at me as if I had just asked her to eat a large, smelly boot. "Not with all the exercise tapes in the world, " she scoffed. "Sorry Edward, but those bars much be about five inches apart." Then a curious look came over her face. "But what it…"

She trailed off, and I searched her mind. As soon as I saw her plan, I was dumbfounded. Could it really be that simple?

She handed something small to Carlisle. "Do you think it could work?" She asked inquisitively.

He looked down at his hand, and then chuckled. "Only you, Alice."

"What? You don't believe that any other girl would carry bobby pins in her pocket?"

Carlisle just shook his head good-naturedly, and went up to the lock. "This is where six months of NSA classes comes in handy," he muttered to himself, and with that he shoved the bobby pin up into the lock.

After wiggling it around for a minute or so, I heard a soft _click,_ and Carlisle took the hairpin out with a satisfied smirk on his face. "And there we go."

We inched the gate open, making sure that I didn't squeak too loudly. We finally got inside, only to read more disappointment: there was a lock on the second gate, but it was on the side opposite us.

"Can you reach is, Carlisle?" I asked him, praying that he could.

Without a word, he slipped his arm through the intricately woven bars. But his hand barely reached the lock, and try as he might, he couldn't get the bobby pin into the lock, much less juggle it to unlock the door.

I knew it wasn't Carlisle's fault. I wasn't mad at him, but I had so much pent-up frustration that I had to let some of it out.

I groaned loudly. "Wonderful. Now how are we—"

"Lemme at 'em," Emmett said, rubbing his hands together and pushing past me. Tightly grasping the bars, he pulled with all his might—and to my immense pleasure, they moved.

There wasn't enough room to get through—yet. With each try, the bars moved farther apart.

Maybe I just had a guilty conscience, but I couldn't keep myself from looking back over my shoulder, waiting for someone to come down the hall and do God-knows-what to us. But no one came.

Suddenly, Alice spoke up. "Okay, Emmett. That's good."

I looked at Alice, then the hole, and then my own body. "Alice… I'm never going to fit through there in one piece."

"I know," she said. "But I can."

"You're not going without us, Alice, if there's one person that should risk their life, it should be me. I'm the one who got us all into this mess, and I'm—"

"Oh, stop being noble," Alice scoffed. "I'm not going alone; I'm just going to unlock the gate from the other side, and then let you guys out. Gosh Edward," she roller her eyes. "Don't freak out."

With that, she wedged herself through the small hole, and stood on the other side, beaming at us. "Okay, Carlisle. Bobby pin me."

Carlisle obliged, hanging the hairpiece back to her. She took it in her hand, stuck it up into the lock, jiggled it around, and then made a face at it. "Carlisle, how do you work this thing?"

He chuckled, and then said, "Okay. You know hoe keys have teeth with varying heights? Well, the trick is to try and push all of those indentations up at the same time while turning the key… in this case, the bobby pin.

Alice gawked at him. "But they make it look so easy on TV…"

After a couple of agonizing minutes, Alice had finally gotten the hang of it.

"All right… in… up… get in there you little… ah ha… now turn, and… wa-la!" I heard a second soft click as Alice threw up her hands and did a small victory dance in place.

"Alice! You're amazing!" I told her as we inched this gate open. "If… _when_," I corrected myself, "we get out of this, I'm going to get you the best present in the world!"

"Yellow, please," she said, smiling sweetly at me.

"I'm glad you already know what it is," I muttered. "Now I just have to figure it out."

Alice helped me through the small gate's opening we had create. Next, we both helped Carlisle, and lastly came Emmett.

Before us now laid a maze of passageways branching off into more passageways. It seemed hopeless. But we had to try.

I turned to my crew. "Okay. You know what to do. We all have to split up and try to find Bella. If any of you find her… well, think it loud."

They nodded, and I saw Emmett speed off into the path on the far right, while Carlisle took one closer to the middle. Before Alice went, she put a tiny hand on my shoulder. "We'll get her back, Edward. I know we will. I promise."

And that was the last I saw of her before I chose a tunnel of my own to search.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

I felt like I was going insane.

Through the endless twists and turns of the tunnels, up and down, left and right, I found everything from cells to stairs.

But no Bella.

_How can this be? _I thought to myself. _They would have to put her somewhere. _

_Unless, _that nagging voice in the back of my head said, _unless they've already done it._

No. I couldn't let myself believe that. If they had already turned her, I would know it. If they had already turned her, I would be able to feel it. I would feel different. Alice would know. Something. There had to be some sign when they turned her. And as for right now, there was nothing. So I still had hope.

Around another corner, up another incline. How much longer would this go on? Bella needed me, and it was killing me slowly to know that, and still not be able to help her.

Finally, _finally, _I heard something. But it wasn't what I wanted to hear at all.

_Edward, _her thoughts came, small and scared. _Edward, we have a problem. I need you to come here. Now._

And I saw it. From Alice's mind, I saw the two red-eyed figures holding Emmett, Carlisle and Alice, forcing Alice to think those thoughts. And they weren't far away.

_Edward, please,_ they came again, more pleading than before. _Please hurry._

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to me, as they led us into a circular room. "They tricked me. I saw movement, and I wasn't thinking. I just hoped it was Bella, and… well, obviously it wasn't. And they had Carlisle and Emmett, too. I… I didn't know what to do. I panicked."

Carlisle and Emmett was behind us, being led by one vampire with size to rival Emmett's, and short, cropped black hair. Our assigned vampire had black hair also, but it waved to his shoulders. And both of them had shockingly red eyes.

"It's not your fault, Alice. Don't blame yourself." Our vampire elbowed me sharply in the ribs, and I stopped talking. Alice gave me a gratified smile just as another figure walked through the double doors on the opposite side of the room.

"Felix, Demetri, what have I told you?" he said to the two vampires in the same voice a mother would use while lightheartedly scolding her children. "I'd rather not be disturbed unless it's something very importa—"

He caught sight of us, and his voice stopped mid-word. His ruby eyes widened, and a large smile spread over his chalky face. "Carlisle! What a pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting a formal visit from you and the rest of your family! Ha, ha, ha, this will be such fun!" He clapped his hands together as if he truly believed the words he was saying.

"Aro," Carlisle said shortly.

Aro's face didn't falter. "Oh come, old friend, let your visit be on happy terms! How about we put all this human business behind us. What do you say?" _I don't see what all this nonsense is about; it was only a girl, after all. No loss there._

A low rumbling escaped my throat. His thoughts were sickening. I wouldn't stand for them.

Aro looked surprisedly at me. "You must be Edward, then. The mind reader? Yes, I have heard a great deal about you… and that human."

"Then you should know how I feel on the subject," I spat at him, getting angrier with each word he spoke.

He sighed, looking at the ceiling. "Yes, well, unfortunately those things can't be changed. Rules are rules, you know. I can't change things like that." He studied his fingernails unconsciously, only angering me more.

I couldn't help it. All the emotions I had kept bottled up inside me, everything I was feeling, everything I had ever felt, was released in a single instant. "Haven't you ever loved someone?" I howled at him furiously. "Haven't you ever loved them so deeply that you'd do anything for them? That they're your whole world? They're all you'll ever want, all you'll ever need. It's irrational, how much you care. You shouldn't care, and you know it, but that isn't going to change anything. It's already too late. Nothing will ever be the same. Without them, your whole world would cease to exist. Every word they say, every movement they make; it seems as though you could never love them more, and then they do something completely trivial, completely unimportant, but it makes your love for them grow, still. I'm not sure if there's anything anywhere more powerful than that kind of love. But I know that I have it. And there's no way I'm going to stop trying to get that love back again."

He looked at me, just looked, mulling over what I had just said. It felt like eons, but he finally spoke again.

"Noble words, my dear boy. But do you really mean them…" I was about to say something back, when he turned, and called into the other room. "Marcus? Marcus dear, would you be a darling and come help me with something? It will only be a minute."

Out of the doorway came another vampire who looked even older than Aro. His snow-white hair reached to his shoulders, and it blended into his white skin so well that his eyes seemed even brighter red than should have been possible.

"Yes, Aro?" the vampire whom I assumed to be Marcus said, sounding completely uninterested.

"Ah, Marcus! You remember our old friend Carlisle, don't you?" He pointed to Carlisle, and Marcus nodded his head. "Yes, well, Carlisle is here now with two of his sons and one of his daughters! Isn't that wonderful?" Marcus looked as though the thought of his old friend here with his children was anything but wonderful, but he said nothing.

Aro continued, undaunted by Marcus's mood. "The only thing is, we have the _tiniest_ little problem on our hands. Edward here, the bronze-haired one—" He pointed to me "—has just declared his undying love for the human girl that we were supposed to turn." He stuck out his lip. "Pity, isn't it? So I was wondering if you could possibly tell me if this young man's love is as strong as he says it is."

Slowly, Marcus turned his eyes on me. The second he did, I immediately felt my entire body to be exposed. Not only my memories, but my feelings as well. Everything I had pined for, all that I had ever wanted, was his to see, just by looking at me. How could one person hold that power?

It didn't matter, though, because in a minute, it was over. I felt myself again. Marcus took his eyes off me, and instead turned to Aro with his hand out, palm upward.

Aro put one long, alabaster finger on his hand, and after a minute, he retracted it.

"Oh, ha, ha, ha!" he laughed. "How wonderful! Thank you very much Marcus, you have been such a help." Marcus nodded, and left the room, after glancing once more at the rest of us. Aro then walked up to me and looked closely at my face.

"How fascinating!" he said, and he seemed to really mean it. "How you do it… well, that's completely beyond me. I'm not sure I've ever felt such a strong bond between two people… a human and a vampire, no less!" He laughed again. "Ha, ha, ha! Yes, I have no reason to doubt you now, my friend. I believe every word of your story. But there is still the rules we have to consider…"

"But he's going to tear her to shreds!" I yelled, almost losing it again. "I know he will. That other one isn't like you."

"My dear Edward, he has been sent to simply turn her into one of us! He wouldn't do anything more." He spoke with confidence, but I could see the doubt in his thoughts.

"Aro, please," I said to him, lowering my tone to a reasonable volume. "You know as well as I do that what you're expecting him to do isn't what his instructions are. He'll do what he wants. And the worst part is, he'll get away with it."

He faltered for a minute. "But my dear boy, what do you suggest we do? We can't simply ignore the rules as you are saying. I do with very much that there was some way I could help you, but in the current situation…"

He trailed off, sounding almost apologetic. But from beside me, I heard Alice speak up. "What if we can prove that the rules won't be a problem?" she asked with more confidence than I could have imagined.

Aro's eyes brightened. "Well then, there wouldn't be a problem, now would there?" His mind's curiosity deepened as Alice stretched her hand out for him to touch. He hesitated for less than a second before touching it.

And through his mind, I saw it too. The dreaded vision. The one that had brought so much heartache and so much trouble. The vision I didn't wish to ever see again, but that I suddenly couldn't tear my mind away from.

Finally, finally, it stopped. Aro removed him hand from hers. Then he laughed. "Ha, ha, ha, very good! Young Alice, you have a gift! What a wonderful thing it is to see the future!"

"Yes it is," she said shortly. "So the rules are no longer an issue?"

"Yes, yes, you may all go as you please!" he said happily, clapping his hands. "But do come again soon! How I enjoy your visits. Felix, Demetri, please show your guests to the door!"

They led us out into a brighter hallway, and told us we were free to go. I almost bolted the minute I heard those words; only the thought of the rest of my family held me back.

But Carlisle spoke to me. "Go, Edward. We'll catch up. Save her." He looked at me once more before I sprinted off into the distance. "Thank you Carlisle," I whispered to myself as I ran, knowing he heard me.

I ran until I found a clearing about here miles north of the city, and inhaled deeply through my nose. And I smelled it.

It may have been faint and almost unnoticeable, but it was there. Bella's scent.

She was within my reach.

I would find her. I would save her. And, I promised myself, I would bring her back in one living, breathing piece.

**A/N: Okay, the way I see it, there's probably two or three more chapters left. The climax, and the after-climax part, and some in-between fluffy mush that we all love. Oh, and just as a side note, I have decided that I am never going to have two unfinished stories up at one time EVER again. Because this is what happens.**

**Please review! I will have the next chapter up in _less than_ four months. Pinky promise. =)**

**-RW**


	21. Teaser

**A/N: Just like I pinky-promised, it's up in less than 4 months!!! I honestly can't believe I did that again. I'm terribly sorry. But you know, I am going to put it out there that there were only 5 reviews for my last chapter. I was a little disappointed, yes, but I'm back again. Remember, reviewing makes me feel guilty for not updating. I didn't have a lot of guilt for this chapter, you know. Hopefully there will be more next time =)**

**Recap:**

**Bella was taken by evil Vladgor. Cullens go after her. Volturi don't help. Edward goes after Vladgor himself because he has a big ego and thinks he can defeat him and save Bella.... riiiiiiight. **

**enjoy!**

Chapter 19

EPOV

The smell led me into a clearing of trees, where I heard someone's thoughts. Foreign as they were, there was no doubt in my mind who's they were.

"Where is she?" I called out to him. "Where's Bella?"

He chuckled. "It's funny how you care so much about something so fragile. It's like collecting antiques, or nick-knacks. I mean really, what's the point? Why bother? You can't keep them in pristine condition forever." My hands involuntarily balled up into fists. He didn't notice. Finally, I could see where he was. From between the trees, he continued to taunt me. "It's only going to die anyway. What's a couple of decades sooner?"

"Don't call her an 'it'." I growled. "She has a name. She's Bella. My Bella." I realized the truth of these words the moment I said them. She had been mine, if only for a moment. And I had lost her. Unlike losing CDs or jewelry, I couldn't replace Bella.

He shrugged. "I don't see how it really matters; she's just going to die."

I cracked. My feet carried me forward, and I pushed off the ground with enough force to propel me directly on top of him. I would have hammered him, too—but just as I lashed out at him, his hand appeared out of no where and knocked me off my feet. He was fast, and I hadn't been ready. But my brain didn't have time to process that information before he was on top of me, his teeth at my neck.

"You've go to be better than that." His voice dripped with relish (A/N: and not the food kind). "Pity, I was hoping it wouldn't be this easy."

Before his teeth scathed my neck, I threw my feet forward and flipped him over my head so I was the one on top.

"Don't worry," I seethed through clenched teeth, "it's not going to be that easy."

I punched him in the side of the face, but he was ready for me, as he had been before. Grabbing my arm, he threw me to the ground. But I wasn't going to let him get away that easily.

From the ground, I lashed out with my leg, propelling him into a tree, and helping me regain my balance standing up. As soon as I stood up, I had to duck right back down again to avoid being hit by the fallen tree branch that had just been chucked at my head.

And then he was beside me again. He lunged; I blocked. He aimed; I deflected. His hits became more and more precise, more and more violent.

"That's right, little vampire," he cooed at my ear, "You can't beat me. You can't win. You're finished."

I began to question myself. What was I doing? Did I really believe that I could win?

_No_, said a stronger voice in my head, _but you have to. For Bella._

I was right. Never before had I ever cared this much about a human before. Not just a human, but anyone. Before he could taunt me again, I flew to the top of the nearest tree. I knew I was only escaping for a moment, but I needed to collect my thoughts.

"Oh, little vampire," he called out mockingly, "come out, come out wherever you are." I stayed silent. "Ah, no matter. I can smell you; I can hear you; and I'll get you, too. You'll never win. Your hundred years is nothing compared to my _thousands_. This is the way I live. The weak perish at the hands of the strong. You can't beat me." He was getting closer, deliberately dragging out his words.

"That's the difference between me and you," he said to me. "You couldn't care more; I couldn't care less."

I couldn't help it; I called out to him.

"Have you ever felt? Felt anything? Not just love, but friendship? Happiness? Gratitude, Accomplishment? Thanks? No," I said, jumping down to face him, "I can see that you haven't. You never will. And I pity you."

For a minute, he looked as though he were recalling a life from long ago. Finally, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Then he slammed me to the ground.

He pinned me down with my arms above my head, his face inches from mine. Then he spoke to me.

"Have you ever really loved someone? Not just that stupid puppy love, but the real thing. You can just tell; you know it in your gut. Have you ever loved like that? Have you ever loved her completely? So that she was your whole world? You'd do anything she asked, anything at all. Have you ever loved someone that way? So you forgot about yourself and all you thought about was her?"

His words struck a chord, and memories flashed before my eyes: the first time I had ever seen Bella; when I realized that I _did_ have control over myself, and not only that, but that I loved her; the first time I had watched her sleep; our kiss in the field…

These memories were powerful ones. The emotion flowing through me just remembering them almost overwhelmed me. "Yes," I said in a cracking, somewhat contorted voice. "Yes."

His conniving smile grew wider still. "See, I never have." And he lowered his head to kill me.

If I've learned anything in over 100 years, it's that what we want doesn't always matter. You can want to get from here to there. You can want to survive. But if the universe wants something different, you can run, but you can't hide.

Or so I thought.

**A/N: HAHA!!! Don't worry, that's not all. I have the rest of the chapter typed, and it will be up later today, but I just couldn't resist giving you a little cliffy there. Stay tuned!**

**please review!!**


	22. Forever & Always

**A/N: YAYNESS!! Sorry about the cliffy, but ya know... these things happen =)**

**A big thanks to MotoDodo for all the love and support (and kick and the rear end) that i need to write this fanfic. (yes, of course that's what she told me to say, you don't think i'd willingly put that there, do you?)**

**Disclaimer: Let's list the things I don't own.**

**Twilight, Moonlight, Finding Nemo, Flowers for Algernon, Harry Potter, and many other aspects of the universe.**

Chapter 19 (continued)

BPOV

I was already only half conscious when I felt the fire start to spread. From the boundaries of my very being, the intense burning sensation enveloped me. I probably screamed; I couldn't tell anymore. The only thing my mind could concentrate on was the flame growing inside me.

But from the confines of my mind, I could make something out. At first it was just a wisp of a memory. Then, slowly, features arranged themselves in a pattern that made sense. Not just made sense, I realized, but made a masterpiece. A voice was fitted to the masterpiece, along with movement and life.

I took in my own personal masterpiece as the fire spread. Surely this was the best way to spend my last moments, thinking of the one I loved? It seemed irrational now to deny that fact to myself. Of course I loved him. I always had. I knew that I always would, even if 'always' was almost over.

But I didn't only love him; I was completely in love with him, too. He had been the most important part of my short life, and always would be. My only regret was that I would never have the chance to tell him.

As I started to slip more into unconsciousness, the voice I saw in my mind became clearer, more defined. It looked at me with the most pained expression. "Oh, Bella, love," I could faintly hear the voice say, "What have I done?"

I wasn't sure why my mental Edward would be so upset. I would have liked to spend my last moments with a happier, more care-free one. I tried to grasp his last words before I went under completely.

"We'll fix it. No matter what, we will make it better. _I'll_ make it better. I promise."

He was slipping away like sand through my fingers, but finally I understood. He felt guilty. They all did. But I didn't blame them. I had known what might happen. And I decided that if I had to, I would do it all over again, exactly the same way. It wasn't anyone's fault. But oh, how it hurt.

And with that resolving, last thought, I gave up.

EPOV

I channeled all my anger, frustration, and hatred into beating this accursed being. I hit him with all my might, and saw the faint look of astonishment on his face before he went sailing across the clearing.

Then, to my immense surprise, a sapling that I hadn't even know was pulled back snapped forward and hit him full on in the back of the head.

"OH YEAH! Right on the head! That's ten bucks, Jasper, pay up!"

"Emmett? Jasper?" I said to myself unbelievingly.

_Hey, bro! It's about time you let us in on some of the action!_

I smiled in spite of myself. Although there was an evil vampire putting everyone I cared about in peril, although I was miles from home in a seemingly hopeless situation, I had my family. They were always there for me, and they always would be.

"Go!" Jasper yelled at me, as he and Emmett continuously pulled the sapling back and let it loose on Vladgor's head again and again. "Find Bella! Carlisle's coming soon to help. We'll deal with this idiot." Emmett's maniacal grin told me they would be all right.

I inhaled deeply, and smelled her. But there was something different—a metallic smell that wasn't supposed to be there. Something was wrong.

I races to the source of the smell, all the while dreading what I would find. How long had I been fighting Vladgor? Five minutes? Ten? Was that long enough for his venom to creep its way into her veins, completing the process that seemed inevitable? I couldn't lose her now, not after everything we'd been through. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't.

But somehow, I was afraid that I had no choice.

I traced the smell into the woods, and it was then that I noticed them.

Cement holes, thousands upon thousands of them, were scattered throughout the forest. I cursed him, realizing that I would have more trouble than I thought, and less time than I needed. How in the world was I supposed to check every single one of them?

It seemed that for each tree in the forest there was a hole. Her smell could only take me so far—and with it growing less apparent, I could only trace it into an area of about fifty holes. I inhaled again, letting her sweet scent sing to me. It called my name, imploring me to take it, despite my internal warnings. But I knew I couldn't. No matter how strong the invitation was, I would resist.

And so my search began.

I ran from hole to hole, my speed almost rendered useless by the sheer number of holes, all in such close proximity to each other. And for an added obstacle, her smell was slowly deteriorating, making it harder for me to pick it up. I tried to deny to myself what that must mean—she wasn't gone yet. As long as there was a chance, I would keep trying.

But as I continued my seemingly hopeless search, I knew in the back of my mind that the clock was ticking. Time was running out.

As I reached the last group of holes, Carlisle's thoughts entered my mine. _I'll help you look. _In an instant he was by my side, searching with me.

They seemed like years, those couple of minutes before I laid eyes on her again. I knew that moment, both wonderful and heartbreaking, would be burned in my mind forever.

But finally, finally, I had found her.

Her blood was spilled everywhere, but I barely noticed. My senses seemed to be at a stand-still. Holding her in my arms, I gaped at her mangled body. She was almost white, and her eyes were half-closed and glazed over. Her mouth was forming unfamiliar words that I couldn't make out. Cradling her fragile frame, I whispered, "Oh, Bella, love…." My voice was contorted with dry sobs. "What have I done?"

How could I have brought her into my world? I knew the consequences. I promised I would never let anything happen to her. I had failed. "We'll fix it. No matter what, we will make it better. _I'll_ make it better. I promise." This was one promise I had to keep.

"Carlisle!" I called out desperately through the woods. "Carlisle, come quick!"

In an instant he was beside me. As much as he tried to hide his thoughts from me, his assessment of Bella's shape was worse than grave.

"Edward," he said carefully, "There aren't many options here. Not only could the venom take her, but the amount of blood she's loosing or already lost… I don't know if it's possible to save her."

I locked eyes with him. "I love her, Carlisle. I won't let her die. Please understand that."

He evaluated me for a moment, and then nodded. "There's only one thing I can think to do. It will involve great strength and determination on your part, but I know you're up to the challenge."

Looking at Bella's face, the face I loved, I knew there wasn't really an option. "Okay, Carlisle. What do I have to do?"

He looked back and forth between Bella and me. Finally, he told me.

"Bite her."

I was so taken aback, I let go of Bella's body and leapt a foot away. "Carlisle, are you insane?" I inquired honestly. Just the thought of sinking my teeth into her flesh was making the smell of her blood more than I could handle.

"Not to drain her, Edward. To suck the venom out. Then we'll have to get her to a hospital right away for an emergency blood transfusion. But the blood transfusion won't work if there's still venom in her veins—it will destroy the new blood, along with her body. This is the only way."

What he said made sense. Still, all I could think of was how appealing her blood would taste once I had taken that first step.

For a moment, I envisioned how it would feel to bite her. The taste would be brilliant. I wouldn't have to worry about resistance anymore, because there would be nothing to resist. Maybe letting the animal within me take control was the best way to handle the situation…

But then I saw Bella. Bella, full of life again. Her blush staining her cheeks, and her smile from under her lashes. Then in the blink of an eye, she was cold and lifeless, completely drained, and never to speak, listen, laugh or love again. The monster who had murdered her was beside her, cackling and smiling, while blood, _her_ blood, dripped down his face. He winked at me, and I immediately recognized him. It wasn't Vladgor who had killed her—it was me.

With this realization, her smell hit me full on like a brick wall that even I couldn't break through.

"I can't do it, Carlisle," I gasped through clenched teeth. The intoxicating sensation was coaxing my senses, drawing me in in every way. It was all I could do to keep from accepting the invitation. The idea that I could resist the temptation when the opportunity was so close, so willing, so undeniable incapable of fending me off… that was insanity. It was inconceivable.

It was the only way.

"Listen to me, Edward," Carlisle said to me. "You _can_ do this. You love her too much to let anything happen to her." His calm voice of reason started to penetrate the hard shell of doubt that now surrounded me. But I still didn't believe him.

"It's easy for you to say." My voice was almost unrecognizable as I tried to keep my dwindling senses intact. "You've had years. You've had practice."

"This isn't about me, Edward! This is about you, and only you. And I know you. This _is_ possible. You have to try."

More cracks formed on the surface of the shell, but still not enough. He didn't understand. None of them did. The temptation it posed was more than I could endure. I wasn't strong enough.

"My God, Edward!" Carlisle said, the urgency in his voice making me look up and finally meet his eyes. "You're right. Maybe I don't understand what you're going through. Maybe it's harder than I think. Maybe I'm giving you too much credit."

He knew what he was doing. He was trying to get to me. I stared at him, our eyes locked, and he continued. "But there's one thing that I don't think _you_ quite understand. It you don't try, Bella's going to die. She's going to die, or turn into what you hate the most. If you do something, at least there's a chance."

Pieces fell to the ground as the shell shattered. Although I was still unsure, unprepared and scared, I attempted to steady my shaking voice. "Tell me what to do." _Whatever it takes_, I told myself. _Whatever it takes_.

"I'll hold her down," he said, taking her arm, and motioning me forward. I didn't dare breath. _Whatever it takes_, I told myself again.

"Take her wrist." I did, flinching only once at the cool temperature of her skin. We didn't have much time.

"Now suck the blood out. This is going to be the tainted blood with the venom. Be careful, this is the most dangerous part…."

He walked me through the process step by step, piece by piece, as thought I was working through a puzzle. But this puzzle's answer would mean more than just a finished problem—it could be the difference between life and death. Unlike any other puzzle I had ever worked on, the intricate details had to be precisely right. I couldn't afford to put the pieces in the wrong order. This was no time for mistakes or second-guesses. I couldn't trade in these cards or press the 'solve' button. The only way out of this horrific trick was to be right.

Wrong was no longer an option. There was too much at stake.

And never before had I been so tempted to forfeit, so willing to throw the game. There was an all-too-persistent part of my mind that kept telling me to give in. _No one will ever have to know you didn't try your best_, the voice said. _No one would blame you. In fact, they would probably console you. What's the loss? Life would go on._

But life wouldn't go on. Not for Bella. Not for me. Not for the thousands of people whose lives she had touched. Life would cease to continue.

The ball was in my field now. My choice could either make or break the game.

So with all the strength my body could muster, with all my heart and all my soul, I summoned the power to do the impossible. I overcame the doubts and fears inside me, and completely dedicated and gave myself to the task at hand: saving Bella.

About halfway through the process, Alice showed up. I wasn't sure why she had come, but her encouraging words helped me keep my focus. Both she and Carlisle talked to me all the way through the process, for which I was grateful.

After what seemed like an eternity, Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder. "It's done, son. You're done."

I sat back and tried to steady myself. But before I could begin, Alice gave me a quick hug, grabbed Bella's body, and ran off into the distance.

"What's she doing?" my cracking voice asked. I started to get up. "Where's she taking her?"

"It's all right, Edward. Sit down." He pushed my back down. "She's taking Bella to a hospital. It's all over. You can rest now."

But I couldn't rest. I wouldn't rest. I needed to see Bella alive and well again before I contented myself with idle _resting_.

"Carlisle, I have to see her. Just to make sure… to make sure she's okay."

Carlisle studied my features, and slowly nodded. I smiled at him with gratification, and took off to see my love.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Even if I could have slept, I wouldn't have. I wanted to be there the very moment Bella woke up.

She had been there for hours. The IV had been inserted about three hours ago, and they'd been pumping blood into her ever since. My entire family was in the waiting room, but I had been allowed to stay with her. I was the only family she had, so far away from both her mother and father.

Her entire body seemed to be wrapped in bandages. A freak accident, they had called it—a twelve-car pile-up on the nearest interstate, caused by some deranged maniac who had gotten away.

Alice, Jasper and Emmett had taken on the task of creating the scene of the accident with flying colors. All the cars were stolen from a local junkyard, so they were pretty old and beat-up anyway. As for the bad guy… he hadn't gotten off the hook as much as the 'eyewitnesses' made it seem.

A bonfire had been lit not long after Bella was taken to the hospital. The Volturi, probably more out of guilt and pride than anything, had done away with the evil Vladgor. His smoke had burned a dark purple--almost black--as he left the world forever.

And now I sat in the white hospital room with Bella. The nurse would come in every so often to check on her, but for now we were alone. Dr. Bartowski had told me that I shouldn't expect Bella to wake up soon, and if she did that she probably wouldn't be very coherent. I told him I didn't care; I would stay as long as she needed me.

I walked up to the side of her bed, and carefully brushed her hair back from her bruised face. Her eyes were shut peacefully, and her breathing was even. She was going to be okay. My angel, my love, was going to be all right.

As I ran my fingers through her hair and stroked her face, I felt as though I was falling in love with her all over again. And this time, I would do it right. I would keep her safe. I knew I could, because I had done it before. The power was within me to control my own future.

Maybe it's the sum of a million coincidences we don't quite control that brings us to a particular place at a particular time, or maybe it's the choices we make, or the actions we take. If there's one thing I've learned in a hundred years, it's that what we want doesn't always matter…

But as Bella's eyes fluttered open, and I gazed into her beautiful face, she said my name. It was as soft as a leaf falling from a tree in autumn, but I still heard it.

"Edward."

What we want… it doesn't always matter…

…but then again, sometimes it's all that does.

**A/N: WARNING! THIS IS NOT THE END! don't worry my fine feathered friends, there's an entire chapter of fluff to follow up that amazing display of heroism. ExB fans rejoice!**

**Please Review!! Thanks **=)


End file.
